Holding Out For A Hero
by TARDIS-set-adrift
Summary: The TARDIS is swallowed by a dinosaur, the Doctor has regenerated and Aderyn is still struggling to get on with Clara. But what could make life easier? Self repairing robots that use any parts they can find? Going undercover with the Doctor in a school? Keeping the Doctor from loathing Clara's boyfriend? Nothing is easy with the Doctor. Part 10 of the Broken Girl series. COMPLETE
1. Name Your Bet

**The TARDIS is swallowed by a dinosaur, the Doctor has regenerated and Aderyn is still struggling to get on with Clara. But what could make life easier? Self repairing robots that use any parts they can find? Going undercover with the Doctor in a school? Keeping the Doctor from loathing Clara's boyfriend? Nothing is easy with the Doctor involved. Part 10 of the Broken Girl series.**

 **I DO NOT own Doctor Who.**

* * *

Quite a crowd had gathered along the bank of the Thames. They stared in fear and disbelief at the impossible sight before them.

Four figures pushed through the throng, following the path a young policeman had taken.

Inspector Gregson turned when he heard an officer call his name. He sighed with relief when he saw four familiar faces "The Peculiars, at last," he said to himself, before rushing forward to greet the Veiled Detective. "Madame Vastra, thank God. I'll wager you've not seen anything like this before." In one fluid movement, Vastra raised her veil and threw it back over her head. "Not since I was a little girl."

Aderyn and Jenny stared in awe at the dinosaur wading through the Thames. As Big Ben merrily chimed the hour, the dinosaur roared at it.

"Big fella, isn't he." Jenny said.

Vastra smiled at her "Dinosaurs mostly were this size."

Jenny shook her head "No they weren't. I've seen fossils."

Vastra raised an eyebrow and replied with some indignation "I was there."

"Of all the adventures, of all the things in time and space, I've never seen a dinosaur before." Aderyn said quietly, more to herself then anyone.

"That's all well and good," Gregson said "But what is the dinosaur fellow doing in the Thames?"

"It must have time travelled." Vastra said, as though this was the most obvious answer and she couldn't understand how he hadn't come to this conclusion by himself.

Aderyn took a small device out of her pocket. It was a series of lenses and wires housed in a circular brass frame. The buttons on the side flashed briefly as she switched it on and fitted it neatly over her eye, with a hook slipping over her ear to keep it in place. She looked up at the dinosaur again, this time seeing it in an x-ray view. "There's something in its throat," she said, adjusting the lens. It focused and zoomed "It looks like a box." Jenny stretched out a hand. The scanner in her glove beeped a few times. Jenny looked at the readings and smiled "That's how it time travelled."

Gregson was always left confused by the conversations held by the Paternoster Peculiars. They were a peculiar group indeed. He always left them to their conversations, though he was rarely told anything, aside from the outcome of their investigations. But this was slightly more serious then a thief or a murderer, who were always dealt with quickly and efficiently. Now they were talking of time travel as though it were a normality. Later that night, as he lead in bed, he would realise that, given the peculiarity of the peculiars, it was likely to be normal for them.

He cleared his throat politely to draw attention to the fact he was still there, it wasn't a good idea to interrupt them when they were discussing a case unless he wanted to be on the receiving end of a severe telling off.

"How could it have time travelled?" He asked.

"Something it ate," Vastra said to him, but she quickly returned her attention to Jenny and Aderyn "We can't risk it travelling again."

Aderyn began to hastily twiddle her sonic screwdriver "I'm signalling. She is responding but, understandably so, she doesn't want to move. We'll have to try and find another way to get her out."

"Is there another way?" Jenny asked.

"Watch and learn. If I can get the right setting then I can vibrate the dinosaur's chemo-receptors." Aderyn shifted the settings repeatedly. She'd had to mend her screwdriver recently after an encounter with a particularly vicious thug that had delivered a powerful kick to the screwdriver while it had been in her pocket. Since then the settings had shifted themselves around several times and she hadn't relocated them all yet.

"The chemo what?" Jenny frowned.

"Chemo-receptors. Otherwise known as the eject button," Aderyn raised the sonic and pointed it at the dinosaur. "This won't be big on dignity." It coughed and retched. Soon enough a blue box was deposited on the river bank. Strax and Aderyn peered over the parapet. "It's the Doctor's box." Strax said. Aderyn smiled at the TARDIS as a globule of dinosaur sputum landed on the sand with a muted splat.

"It would appear so," Vastra responded quietly. But she wasn't looking at the TARDIS. Her attention was still on the dinosaur. "But how did it get there?"

"It laid an egg!" Gregson exclaimed.

Vastra stared at him in disbelief "It dropped a blue box marked police out of it's mouth. Your grasp of biology, it troubles me," She took several round, squat tripods out of a bag and handed them to Gregson "Place these lanterns on the shoreline and bridges encircling the creature at twenty foot intervals. They will emit a signal that will incline it to remain within their circumference." She turned quickly away from him and headed for the steps to the shore.

"What about the box?" Gregson called after her.

"Leave that to us, Inspector," Aderyn shouted over her shoulder as she struggled to catch up with Vastra, Jenny and Strax. "I bet Clara has something to do with this." Aderyn said under her breath when she caught up with Jenny.

"Name your bet." Jenny said cheerfully.

This wouldn't be the first time that Jenny and Aderyn had placed a bet on one of their investigations. But they never bet with money. In this day and age money was too valuable a commodity. Besides, it was far more entertaining to bet with other things. The problem was, Aderyn was running out of things she was willing to bet with. She was having to be cautious about the stakes now after she had lost a bet and had to surrender the manuscript for her latest novel. She was still waiting for the opportunity to get it back. Then Aderyn was struck with a sudden idea. Usually, she and Jenny would split the housekeeping duties between them. But there was one thing she hated doing more then anything else.

"A week of cooking." she grinned.

"You must be certain." Jenny said, sealing the bet with a hand shake.

"So it is the Doctor then." Aderyn said, rushing to catch up with Vastra, who was waiting patiently for them at the bottom of the stone steps that lead to the shoreline. Aderyn had tried to keep the hope from her voice. But she knew she had failed.

"A giant dinosaur from the distant past just vomited a blue box from outer space. This is not the day for jumping to conclusions," Vastra said. She took a step towards the TARDIS. Then stopped as though she changed her mind "Strax, if you wouldn't mind?"

Obediently, Strax strode to the TARDIS and banged loudly on the door. "Hello? Exit the box and surrender to the glory of the Sontaran Empire."

Strax and Vastra blocked Aderyn's view of the door, but she heard the door open, a voice say "shush" and the door close again.

"Doctor?" Strax said, knocking on the door again.

The door was opened again and a Scottish drawl spoke quickly "I was being chased by a dinosaur, but I think I managed to give it the slip." The door was slammed shut and then slowly creaked open.

"Sneezy? Dopey? Grumpy!" the Doctor stared, a little unfocused, at Strax. He took a few staggering steps out of the TARDIS and spotted Vastra and Jenny "The green one and the not green one. Or it could be the other way round. I mustn't prejudge." The TARDIS door, which had swung closed behind him, creaked open again and a very dishevelled Clara took several exhausted steps onto the river bank.

"Oh you remember," the Doctor waved his hand at Clara and frowned. Eventually he said "Thingy. The not me one. The asking questions one."

"Clara." Aderyn prompted.

"It might be Clara. It might not be, It's a lottery." The Doctor said.

"It is Clara." Clara shouted.

"I'm not ruling it out," He looked up at the dinosaur, which had begun a frequent bellow "Oi, big man, shut it," there was a brief pause "Big woman, sorry."

"Doctor you need to calm down." Clara said.

But the Doctor paid her no attention, continuing to address the dinosaur "I'm not flirting by the way."

Clara turned desperately to Aderyn "I think something went wrong."

When the Doctor turned to face Clara, he spotted Aderyn for the first time. "I remember you. The Bird one. Have you regenerated? You used to be shorter, with shorter hair. And green eyes. What happened to the green eyes. I liked the green eyes."

Aderyn raised an eyebrow at him "I haven't had green eyes for a while."

When the dinosaur let out a pained roar the Doctor turned to Vastra. "Your sonic lanterns, turn them down. The frequency is too high. It's giving her a headache."

"Giving who a headache?" Jenny asked carefully.

"My lady friend," The Doctor turned to the dinosaur again "That's just an expression. Don't get any ideas."

"How do you know that?" Strax asked.

"Come on, Clara. You know I speak dinosaur." The Doctor said without turning.

"He's not Clara. I'm Clara." Clara shouted with undisguised annoyance.

The Doctor turned to them, frowning "Well, you're both similar heights. Maybe you should wear labels." He took a staggering step backwards "Why are you doing that? you're going all dark and wobbly. Stop that."

"I don't think we are." Aderyn said slowly.

"Never mind. Everyone take five." The Doctor swayed, closed his eyes then fell face first into the mud and sand.

"Well then, here we go again." Aderyn muttered.

Jenny sidled up to her and whispered "He regenerated. Are you still happy with your bet?"

"I'm not ruling anything out." Aderyn whispered back.


	2. You've Gone All English

With great difficulty they managed to get the Doctor to his feet and through the crowd, Strax and Aderyn leading the way to clear a path. Strax bellowed a platitude of meaningless threats of death by various weapons. Aderyn rolled her eyes at him and somehow managed to remain calm, despite the amount of times she was elbowed in the ribs. Even when she was faced by a particularly large and disgruntled man. She merely told him, politely, about the levels of pain she would subject him to if he didn't move out of her way.

Between them, Jenny and Vastra were able to man handle the Doctor back to the carriage. Though his bouts of conciousness were infrequent, they were proving very unhelpful. He protested loudly and shouted about wanting to go back to the TARDIS. But he soon fell silent when Aderyn threatened to render him truly unconcious if he didn't do as he was told.

Back at Paternoster Row, the Doctor had remained uncooperative. Aderyn was still uncertain how they managed to wrestle him into a long night shirt and a bed. When he was awake he paced the room, yelling constantly.

Aderyn sat against the wall and listened to the Doctor pacing. She watched Clara pacing the hall in front of her. She resisted the urge to stick her foot out and trip Clara. She kept asking the same questions and Aderyn could tell Jenny was starting to get very frustrated with trying to explain the regeneration process. Of course Aderyn could have spoken up and explained to Clara what happened, the glares Jenny kept throwing at her were a definite indication that it would be a good idea. But before she had a chance, the bedroom door was thrown open and the Doctor frowned at them "Who invented this room? It doesn't make sense."

Clara rushed forward and ushered the Doctor back into the room. "What doesn't make sense?" She asked.

"Look, it's only got a bed in it. Why is there only a bed in it?"

"Because it's a bedroom. It's for sleeping in." Clara said impatiently.

"What do you do when you're awake?"

"You leave the room." Jenny said. She stood in the doorway so the Doctor couldn't leave.

But the Doctor showed no signs of trying to make a break for it. He stood in the middle of the room and waved his arms in despair "So you've got a whole room for not being awake in. What's the point?" He turned on his heel, saw his reflection in the mirror and turned away quickly "And don't look in that mirror. It's absolutely furious."

Aderyn sighed. Clara clearly wasn't going to have any control over the Doctor. He was confused and frustrated. And that required a certain amount of cunning. Politely asking the Doctor to lie down becuase he kept passing out was only met with a typical Doctor response.

"Of course I keep passing out, there's all these beds," he shouted. Aderyn peered around the door in time to see the Doctor pointing accusingly at Clara "Why do you keep talking like that? What's wrong with your accent?"

Ah, the Doctor finally realised he had an accent. There was only one person that could calm him down now. When Aderyn began to walk away she heard the Doctor loudly telling Jenny and Clara that they had developed a fault because they'd 'gone all English'. She returned quickly, trailing up the stairs behind Madame Vastra. She sat on the floor again and smiled to herself as she heard Vastra drop easily into a Scottish accent that was, although strong, softer then the Doctor's.

"Doctor, I need you to help me with something."

Relief was evident in the Doctor's voice "Finally, someone who can talk properly."

"I'm having difficulty sleeping." Vastra said.

"I wouldn't bother with that, I never bother with sleep. I just do stand-up catnaps whenever anyone else starts talking. I like to skip ahead to my bits. It saves time." the Doctor said cheerfully.

Aderyn clapped a hand over her mouth, now was not the time to laugh at the Doctor's comments. She heard their voices move and the creak of bed springs "Save me time, Doctor. Project an image of perfect sleep into the centre of my mind."

Aderyn knew she had been right to get Vastra's help. She peered around the door again and saw Vastra and the Doctor sat on the bed. "The size of my brain," the Doctor said "Would be like dropping a piano on you."

Vastra shrugged "Be gentle then."

"I'll try. Brace yourself." The Doctor said, raising his hands to Vastra's temples. Then he fell backwards against the bed, fast asleep. Aderyn stood and walked into the room, leaning against the wall. Jenny and Vastra pulled the bedsheets over the Doctor.

"I love monkeys. They're so funny." Vastra muttered. She realised her mistake when she heard the annoyance in Jenny's response.

"So people are monekys now?"

"No dear, people are apes. Men are monkeys." Vastra said, relieved when Jenny smiled back.

"So what now?" Clara asked.

"He needs rest," Aderyn said. She took a piece of chalk from her pocket and tucked it behind the radiator "That should keep him busy if he wakes up."

"So what do we do? How do we fix him?" Clara said, watching the sleeping form of the Doctor.

Jenny nudged Aderyn's rib as she opened her mouth and spoke before Aderyn could.

"Fix him?"

"How do we change him back?"

The change in the room was instantaneous. Both Vastra and Aderyn tensed visibly. Aderyn's hands shook as she balled them into fists. When Vastra spoke, her voice was suddenly severe "Jenny, I will be in my chamber. Would you be kind enough to fetch my veil?"

Jenny frowned at her "Are we expecting stangers?"

"It would seem there's already one here," Vastra replied curtly "Aderyn, would you make some tea?"

Aderyn's expression was one of pure anger but she replied politely "Of course ma'am." She followed Vastra quickly.

"She meant me didn't she?" Clara asked. But Jenny didn't reply. She crossed to the window and pulled it closed.

"Since when has Aderyn called Vastra ma'am?"

Jenny sighed and replied quietly "When there's strangers visiting," When Jenny turned away form the window, Clara was peering intently at the Doctor's face. "Are you ok?"

Clara shrugged "Where did he get that face? It's brand new so why's it got lines on it? How can his hair be all grey? He's only just got it."

Jenny smiled sadly at her "It's still him, ma'am. You saw him change."

"I know that. I do." Clara said quietly.

"Good," Jenny muttered and headed for the door. She was a few feet away from it when Clara began to stammer out several attempts to start a sentence. Jenny turned kindly to face her "Take a deep breath and try again."

"If Vastra changed, if she was different, if she wasn't the person you liked?" Clara managed to force out.

Jenny couldn't help but smile shyly "I don't like her ma'am, I love her. And as to different?" Jenny shrugged "Well, she's a lizard."

This clearly wasn't the answer Clara was looking for.

"Fine, what if it was Aderyn? What if she suddenly did this?"

Jenny stared in disbelief. Surely Clara would remember what Aderyn had looked like, been like, before they had visited the Doctor's grave at Trenzalore. "She has. I've seen it. She may not look the same, may not even be completely the same, but it's still her. You get used to it. It will be the same with the Doctor." She headed for the door again.

"If you could change her back, would you?"

"No, never," Jenny said immediately "It's part of who she is. It's not her fault." Jenny prayed silently that Clara wouldn't push the matter. It was always a difficult, complicated task to try and explain her bizzare friendship with Aderyn.

"He looks like her." Clara said quietly.

"Well, they are related." Jenny said slowly. Then she looked at him again. Clara was right. The Doctor had the same tall, slim frame and long limbs as Aderyn. Aderyn was easily only an inch or two shorter than the Doctor was now. They both had a thin face and expressive eyes. Jenny had noticed that the steel blue of the Doctor's eyes matched the colour of Aderyn's right eye.

"Yes, but she looked like that before he looked like this." Clara said.

Jenny shrugged "I don't completely understand how it works, miss. There's more to it then just changing a face. But I better go. The wife doesn't like to be kept waiting."


	3. When Did You Stop Wearing Your Veil?

It transpired that asking Aderyn to make tea had been an excuse to get her away from Clara. It was, once again, Jenny who made the tea. When she took the tray into Vastra's chamber, Aderyn was glaring murderously and pacing restlessly. Vastra was trying to ignore her but it was proving difficult to question efficiently when Aderyn was appearing in and out of her peripheral vision.

"Sit down!" She snapped eventually. Aderyn threw herself into a chair and Vastra turned her attention back to Clara "And then?" She asked.

"Why are you wearing your veil?" Clara asked, ignoring Vastra's question.

"And then?" Vastra asked again sternly.

"And then we got swallowed by a dinosaur. You might have noticed." Clara said irritably.

"How did it happen?" Aderyn asked.

"I don't know. We were crashing about everywhere. The Doctor was gone. The TARDIS went haywire." This was met with a disgruntled hiss.

Jenny wasn't sure whether it came from Aderyn or Vastra. But Jenny _was_ sure that she would have to be the calm and understanding one in this "He's not gone. He's upstairs." She said kindly.

"Okay, he changed." Clara shrugged.

"He regenerated, renewed himself." Vastra corrected.

"Renewed, fine." Clara muttered. She didn't understand why she was being scrutinized and questioned like this.

Vastra grimaced bitterly "Such a cynical smile."

"I'm not smiling." Clara said.

"Not outwardly. But I'm accustomed to seeing through a veil. How have I amused you?"

"You said renewed," Clara said "he doesn't look renewed."

"You thought he was young?" Aderyn snorted.

"He looked young." Clara snapped.

"He looked like your dashing young gentleman friend, you mean." Aderyn snapped back. Clara opened her mouth to respond but Vastra could sense the mother of all arguments brewing. She knew it would be best to put an end to it before either of them could build up a head of steam.

"But he is the Doctor. He has walked the universe for centuries untold. He has seen stars fall to dust." Vastra said quickly, putting a halt to Clara's unspoken retort.

But Aderyn used Clara's silence as an opportunity "You might as well flirt with a mountain range." She muttered venomously.

"I did not flirt with him." Clara shouted at her.

"He flirted with you. He looked young, who do you think that was for?" Aderyn said with undisguised resentment. Vastra turned her head enough to see Aderyn from the corner of her eye and emitted a low, long noise that was more of a growl then a hiss. Aderyn had made an effort to learn certain aspects of the Silurian language. As a result she was fully aware that she had just been on the receiving end of a final warning. She fell into a moody silence, folding her arms across her chest and sinking her teeth into her bottom lip so hard she soon tasted blood.

"He looked young for everyone. I wear a veil and Aderyn wears men's clothing as he wore a face, for the same reason." Vastra said.

"What reason?" Clara asked.

"To be accepted." Aderyn said quietly.

"Jenny and I are married. Yet for appearances sake we maintain a pretence that she's my maid." Vastra explained.

"Doesn't explain why I'm pouring the tea in private." Jenny muttered. Aderyn turned her snort of laughter into a cough. Although mildly irked by the comment, Vastra was relieved that Aderyn was, albeit temporarily, distracted from arguing with Clara. She could cope with the odd snide comment or sarcastic quip if it meant she wasn't having to try and prevent bickering. She didn't have to wait for more then a few seconds before the next comment was let loose.

"Great pretence isn't it?" Aderyn said, then quickly drank her tea to stop herself laughing. Jenny giggled.

Vastra ignored them "Aderyn wears men's clothing because of the Victorian values she loathes so much. Dressed as a man, she is questioned less and accepted more. I wear a veil to keep from view what many people are pleased to call my disfigurement. I do not wear it as a courtesy to such people but as a judgement on the quality of their hearts."

Clara glared, her gaze flitting between Aderyn and Vastra "Are you judging me? Are you both judging me?"

Aderyn smirked "I don't discriminate, I judge everyone."  
_

In the bedroom, the Doctor awoke. He sniffed the air. He climbed from the bed, dropping to his hands and knees. He crawled across the floor, sniffing as he went. When he got to the radiator, he reached behind it and found the chalk that Aderyn had concealed there.

"That's my girl." He whispered with a smile and began to write over the floorboards.  
_

"The Doctor regenerated in your presence. The young man disappeared, the veil lifted. He trusted you. Are you judging him?" Vastra said coolly.

Clara sprang to her feet "How dare you?" She roared.  
_

The Doctor soon covered every reachable floor space in drawings and writing. But he stopped when he heard the mournful cries of the dinosaur. He leapt to his feet and ran to the door, pulling it open. But he didn't go through it "Door. Boring. Not me," He muttered to himself. He crossed to the window and threw it open. "Me."  
_

"Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor. Last of the five good 'uns. Stoic philosopher." Clara shouted.

Aderyn, who was now stood next to Vastra's chair, grinned at Jenny over Vastra's head "Superlative bass guitarist. The Doctor really knows how to put a band together."

Clara carried on as though Aderyn hadn't spoken "And the only pin-up I ever had on my wall when I was fifteen. The only one I ever had. I am not sure who you think you're talking to right now, but I have never had the slightest interest in pretty young men," Clara turned the full force of her glare on Aderyn, who had an amused smile curling one corner of her mouth "And for the record, if there is anyone who could flirt with a mountain range, she's probably standing in front of you right now. Just because a pretty face turns your head, do not assume I am so easily distracted."

Jenny clapped and cheered, stopping quickly when she saw Vastra glaring at her.

"I often wondered what you'd be like when you lost your temper." Aderyn smirked.

"Need I remind you that, technically, you're married?" Vastra said.

"A nudge every now and then would help," Aderyn said.

When Jenny laughed Aderyn frowned at her "Oi, Flint, wipe that smile off your face. There's a dinosaur in the Thames and that can only mean one thing." She crossed to the door and left quickly.

"What does that mean?" Clara asked.

"The game, Miss Oswald, is on." Vastra said, standing.

Clara frowned at her "When did you stop wearing your veil?"

"When you stopped seeing it." Vastra smiled.

"I really wish she would just shout at me instead of being so calm." Clara muttered.

"She's not calm," Jenny said "She's distracted. I'd still watch your step if I was you."

Aderyn returned quickly, carrying a bag and whistling. She dropped the bag heavily on a table "The Doctor needs us," She waved her hand in Clara's general direction "You more than anyone. He's lost in the ruin of himself. And we must bring him home." She started to rummage through the bag.

"What's wrong with him?" Clara asked "I mean why is he so confused? Why does he keep passing out? Is that normal?"

Aderyn stopped rummaging through the bag and frowned at it "I don't know if it's normal for him. I've never seen him this soon after regeneration before."

"Have you ever seen him regenerate?" Clara asked quietly.

Aderyn shook her head "No. No I haven't. I usually just get the psychic paper waved in my face to prove it's him. But obviously it isn't possible this time. I am somewhat curious about his choice this time. I mean, those really are some eyebrows."

"You're starting on him already?" Jenny said, trying not to sound too amused.

"Well, I can't make fun of his chin anymore and I want to get some jokes in before he can defend himself." Aderyn said slyly.

"You said his choice? He has a choice?" Clara demanded.

"Yes and no. If a Time Lord regenerates enough then they do have a certain degree of sub conscious control. Not a lot, but some. In the Doctor's case he was safe and comfortable. He's not pretending anymore. As Vastra said, he's lifted the veil." Aderyn said as she pulled a variety of gadgets out of the bag.

"And put on gender appropriate clothing." Jenny taunted.

"You're a fine one to talk," Aderyn retorted "But for now, I'll do what I always do."

An explosion and an almighty roar broke the stillness of the night air. Aderyn crossed to the window but soon looked back at Vastra and Jenny with alarm "We have to go. The dinosaur just exploded."

Jenny and Vastra sprang quickly into action. Vastra yanked the door open and shouted down the hall "Strax! Bring the carriage. Now!" Jenny pulled on her scanner gloves.

By the time they reached the front door, Strax was waiting with the carriage and Aderyn's horse. Aderyn ran and scrambled onto it. Vastra hadn't even shut the carriage door when Strax cracked the whip and urged the horse forward.


	4. Can This Day Get Any Worse?

The closest they could get to the river was the opposite side. As Aderyn dismounted she could just about see the TARDIS still on the shoreline. But how small and distant it looked now. Clara was the only one who was surprised to see the Doctor standing on the parapet, looking over the burning remains of the dinosaur.

"What's he doing here?" She whispered.

"There's trouble. Where else would he be?" Vastra said.

Aderyn approached the Doctor slowly and cautiously. When she got close she heard him whisper "I'm sorry."

"Doctor?" She said gently.

"She was scared," He said without turning "She was scared and alone. I brought her here and look what they did."

"Who or what could have done this thing?" Vastra asked.

"No," The Doctor barked "No, that is not the question. That is not where we start."

"The question is how. The flesh itself has been combusted." Strax said.

The Doctor gave an exasperated sigh "No. Shut up. What do you all have for brains, pudding? Why can't I meet a decent species?"

"Doctor, I know you're upset but you need to calm down and talk to us. What is the question?" Clara took a few tentative steps towards the Doctor but stopped when Aderyn held out her hand.

"A dinosaur is burning in the heart of London," Aderyn said quickly. She climbed onto the parapet next to the Doctor, who grabbed her hand to help her up "Nothing left but smoke and flame. The question is, have there been any similar murders?"

The Doctor smiled happily at her. "Never the pudding brain. Well?"

"Yes. By the Goddess there have been." Aderyn replied.

The Doctor scowled over his shoulder at Madame Vastra "I thought I told you not to turn her into a Silurian," He then turned away before Vastra could protest. "Question two?"

"Look at them all gawking. But if the pudding brains are gawking, then what is he?" Aderyn pointed across the river to the figure of a man who was walking calmly away from the crowd of pudding brained gawkers. Aderyn smiled broadly when she heard the Doctor mutter "That's my girl."

"He seems remarkably unmoved by the available spectacle." Vastra observed. Aderyn looked at Vastra over her shoulder and Clara turned to face her "Do you think that is whoever-" Clara started. But her sentence was left unfinished as a great splash drew their attention back to the river. The Doctor was no longer stood on the parapet. He had stepped off it. Aderyn looked down at the expanding ripples in the water. Clara rushed over to the parapet, but a lack of attention to where she was going sent her shoulder first into Aderyn's legs and Aderyn was thrown from the parapet into the water.

Clara shouted an apology to the splashing figure of Aderyn as she resurfaced. Clara was thankful she couldn't make out Aderyn's half shouted, half choked response. Strax quickly retrieved a rope from a supply box on the back of the carriage, and Aderyn was soon hoisted out of the water. As she reached the bridge, Vastra and Jenny pulled her roughly over the parapet. She landed on the pavement in a soggy, disgruntled heap. "You've got to be kidding me," She muttered as Vastra pulled her to her feet. "Can this day get any worse?" She said, wringing the water out of her hair.

"Yes," Vastra said "You lost your bet." Aderyn groaned and Jenny whooped triumphantly. Aderyn's annoyance was elevated when a thick, black cloak collided with her face. As she lowered it, she saw Strax smiling apologetically at her "Sorry lad." He said. She wrapped the cloak around herself and looked out across the river with anger burning in her eyes. Vastra then announced that they would return to Paternoster Row.

"But what about the Doctor? We should be looking for him." Clara protested.

"There has been a murder and the Doctor has taken up the case. If we are to see him again, we must do the same." Vastra said curtly. And so home they went. Vastra bundle Aderyn into the carriage, requesting Jenny take the horse. She sat between Clara and Aderyn, feeling Aderyn's arms shake with cold. The journey home felt long now there was no urgent need to rush. Clara's attempts to apologise were met with no committal grunts and she eventually stopped trying.  
_

Vastra waited until everyone else was in bed, and theoretically speaking, asleep before beginning her investigations. Over the past few weeks she had collected the local newspapers that contained articles about the recent spate of combustions. She hadn't thought about looking into it until now. Well, she had given it some thought after reports of the first few, but she had found herself frequently distracted by cases that were more easily dealt with. She had listened to Jenny and Aderyn discuss the bizarre goings on between them and, like them, she was inclined to think that they were all connected and not natural. She collected the newspapers from her chamber and retreated to the solitude of the library.

Aderyn stretched comfortably on the sofa in the library. This was always her favourite room to come to. It was always so warm and quiet. And, of course, full of books. She read a book now, the crackling fire providing the perfect accompaniment. She loved reading by firelight. One of her fondest memories was from the first time she met Vastra, being sat on this very sofa reading one of the hundreds of books Vastra had at her disposal. She pulled the blanket tighter around herself. This was how she had planned to spend her day. But like everyone else, she had been distracted by a dinosaur wading through the Thames. She was so lost in the book she was reading that she didn't hear the door open.


	5. You Need To Talk This Time

Vastra spotted Aderyn on the sofa, deeply engrossed in a book. She clearly hadn't heard Vastra walk in. But she heard the door close and she jumped, dropping her book in the process.

"You should be in bed." Vastra said.

"I couldn't sleep," Aderyn said, scooping her book off the floor. She looked at the pile of papers in Vastra's arms and stood up "I'll leave you to it if you're busy."

Vastra sat herself on the chair opposite Aderyn and waved her hand dismissively "Don't worry, dear, you go back to reading."

Aderyn made herself comfortable again, but her book was forgotten on the seat next to her "What are you doing?"

"I'm investigating. I do believe the destruction of the dinosaur is linked to the other murders," Vastra said. She began to flick through the papers, opening each of them at the page which held the relevant article. Aderyn watched her. Vastra had grown quite used to Aderyn watching her going about her work. But this time it was a mild annoyance. Aderyn frequently became engrossed in small tasks in order to avoid what was bothering her. This time, Vastra knew there was no way Aderyn could avoid talking about the Doctor and Clara. That was clearly what was bothering her. Vastra sighed and closed the paper she had been reading "You need to talk this time." She said.

"No. No I don't." Aderyn said. She leant back in her seat and picked up the book again. Vastra reached across the small table and took it from her.

"This has something to do with the Doctor and Clara."

"There's nothing to talk about." Aderyn said. She made a grab for the book but Vastra kept it out of arm's reach. She was lying completely. There was a lot to talk about. But the stubborn streak she had inherited from the Doctor prevented her from admitting it. After a few moments, Vastra handed the book back "You have had a bad day. You should get some sleep and talk about it in the morning." She went back to the papers, occasionally glancing over at Aderyn, who had opened her book again, but wasn't reading it. Aderyn was clearly tired. The exhaustion was etched across her face. So Vastra did the one thing she knew would get her to sleep. She spoke to her. Vastra began talking at length about her theories on the case. But Aderyn wasn't listening. As Vastra spoke to her in the soft, Scottish accent she had used while talking to the Doctor, Aderyn's eyes began to close. And soon she was asleep.

Vastra smiled to herself and pulled the blanket up to Aderyn's shoulders. That had always worked when Aderyn was a child. She had found that out when the Doctor had left Aderyn with her. She had been fretful and scared. So Vastra had read her a book, putting on different voices for different characters. A young Aderyn had taken great delight in listening to Vastra speak with a Scottish accent. So she'd started using it more frequently whenever Aderyn had been left with her and she was upset. It seemed to calm her greatly and put her to sleep. She felt a twinge of guilt for using such an old trick this time. But Aderyn would be no good to them aggravated and tired. Vastra knew that Aderyn would talk to Jenny about what was bothering her. They were such good friends and Jenny had ways of getting Aderyn to talk. She left Aderyn, still asleep, in the library when she retired to her own bed a few hours later. There would be no point waking her just yet.


	6. Melt Him With Acid

The next day dawned bright and fresh. As usual Jenny was the first to rise. She had been surprised to find Aderyn asleep on the sofa. But she woke her gently with a cup of tea and politely told her that there was things to do today so she couldn't sleep the day away. Aderyn had protested and said that she wasn't really sleeping. Jenny left her to it and began her usual morning jobs. When she returned to the library Aderyn was gone and her cup was empty.

Clara woke to the sounds of shouting in the courtyard. She opened the window and leant out. Strax and Aderyn were overseeing the delivery of the TARDIS. Strax caught sight of her and waved cheerily "Good morning, Miss Clara." He shouted.

Aderyn looked up at her and waved half heartedly "Morning."

"You got the TARDIS then?" Clara called down.

"Military tactics. The Doctor is still missing, but he will always come looking for his box. By bringing it here, he will be lured from the dangers of London to this place of safety, and we will melt him with acid," Strax said. Aderyn picked up a newspaper, rolled it up and hit the back of his head with it "And we will not melt him with acid. Sorry, old habits," He took the newspaper from Aderyn and held it up. "The Times. Would you like me to send it up?" Clara nodded. And soon regretted it. The rolled up newspaper hit her squarely between the eyes and sent her falling backwards. As she lead on the bedroom floor, she could hear Aderyn's raucous laughter ringing throughout the courtyard.

Once she had got over the shock of being hit in the face by a flying newspaper, Clara washed and dressed. By the time she left her room, there was a variety of odd noises coming from one of the rooms Aderyn had declared as hers. But Clara didn't dare enter. There was a large keep out sign stuck to the door. As she headed for the stairs she saw Jenny coming up them.

"Good morning, Clara." Jenny said cheerfully. She had a cup in one hand and a newspaper in the other.

"Morning. What are going to do? Are we looking for the Doctor?" Clara asked eagerly.

"We've got the Paternoster Irregulars on it. If anyone can find him then they can." Jenny replied. She walked towards Aderyn's room. She was almost there when there was a bang and swearing from behind the door. Aderyn threw the door open and stumbled out, coughing and spluttering, followed by a plume of dark grey smoke. She closed the door behind her. "Don't go in there," She said when she spotted Jenny "That didn't go according to plan."

"What are you up to now? And did you open a window this time?" Jenny sighed, handing over the cup of tea and newspaper.

"Tinkering." Aderyn replied. But offered no other explanation. "And yes I opened the window."

Jenny rolled her eyes "I've got the Irregulars out in force looking for the Doctor. They'll report back in about an hour," Jenny informed her. She followed Aderyn down the stairs. "Meanwhile, Madam Vastra is slightly occupied by the Conk-Singleton forgery case, and is having the Camberwell child poisoner for dinner."

"Marvellous. At least something is going to plan. I just hope she doesn't make such a mess this time." Aderyn said.

"So, are you in a better mood today?" Jenny asked.

Aderyn sighed "So far. But if I have another day like yesterday then someone is going to die. Did Vastra tell you anything about the assaults in the Shades?"

"Yes. She said go ahead if you're up for it. But be careful." Jenny said. Clara followed them both down to the kitchen, more then a little confused at their lack on urgency to find the Doctor.

"Careful? Tried that once, ever so dull." Aderyn retorted.

"What about the Doctor?" Clara demanded eventually.

"Try not to worry," Aderyn said "We're on it. Welcome to life at Paternoster Row. More than one thing happens at once. The Doctor can look after himself," She opened the paper, spreading it out on the kitchen table, leant on her elbows and drank her tea in silence. Jenny had wondered away, no doubt there were other household tasks that needed attention.

"You're going to be here until the Doctor gets back, which won't be until the case is solved. So I advise you get used to how things work here. There's lots of things that go on here." Aderyn snapped when she got quickly annoyed with Clara's aggitated fidgeting.

"But the Doctor could be anywhere." Clara protested.

"He'll be in London somewhere. Look, right now whatever is going on can have an impact on the whole of London. Maybe the country. Me, Vastra and Jenny are going to do what we can. No offence to the Doctor, but really, there's other important things going on. The Doctor can look after himself. He always does."

"But what if..." Clara began. But, much to Aderyn's relief, she was interrupted by the arrival of Strax. He smiled happily at her.

"Good morning, Miss Clara. It is time for your mandatory medical examination." He took from his pocket a small, monocle like device with three lenses. He flipped up a lens and a green light shone from it. He used it to look into her eye. "Say ah." Clara obliged "You didn't move your lips." Strax said.

Behind Strax, Clara heard Aderyn stifle a laugh. "You're looking at my eye." she said. Strax lowered the lens. "Oh yes. Easy mistake," He lifted the device again, this time looking intently at her forehead "Now that's interesting."

Clara frowned "What's interesting?"

"Deflected narcissism. Traces of passive aggressive. And a lot of muscular young men doing sport." Strax said.

Clara heard Aderyn's increasing struggle to contain her laughter.

"What are you looking at?" Clara asked.

"Your subconscious." Strax said. Clara took a step back and flipped down the lens.

Strax tutted and flipped up a different lens. He cast the green light over the length of Clara's body "Moving onto the thorax, such as it is. Ah, excellent. Enviable spleen. Well done. Twenty seven years old, with a projected life span of exactly..."

"Stop right there." Clara said quickly.

Strax lowered the lens "Oh, you're going to do quite well. But watch out for fluid retention later. It's going to be spectacular."

"Why are you doing this?" Clara snapped.

Strax looked at her with surprise. He still hadn't come to terms with the fact that not everybody thought the same way he did "If we are to serve together, I need you in peak physical prowess."

Clara looked from Strax to Aderyn "Why would we be serving together? The Doctor's going to come back, isn't he?"

"I'll never forgive him if he doesn't come back for you. And I can hold a grudge." Aderyn said.

Strax held up the device again and turned to Aderyn as though only just realising she was there. Aderyn realised, too late, what was happening, She soon found herself stuck in the corner. Strax stood in front of her and loudly declared that she was aggressive, sarcastic and had trust issues before Aderyn finally chased him out of the room.

"Why do you hate me so much?" Clara blurted out.

Aderyn sighed "There will never be enough time for me to answer that question." She left the kitchen quickly before Clara could respond.


	7. Don't Get Drunk?

Clara wasn't sure what she was meant to do with herself today. She didn't know Victorian London so she was reluctant to go anywhere. Anyway, she would rather be wherever news of the Doctor would be. She was in the library, carefully avoiding the chair Jenny had pointed out was Aderyn's chair, staring at a bookcase when Aderyn interrupted her chain of thought.

"You'll be out with me today." Aderyn declared, not bothering to hide her clear dislike of the idea.

"Why?" Clara asked.

Aderyn sighed "Because I'm doing Jenny and Vastra a favour. It's their anniversary. I thought they might like some time to themselves. Besides, I need to get information on the Doctor. I'm not going to get that sat around here all day. Be ready to leave in five minutes." She closed the door. Aderyn was halfway up the stairs when Clara threw open the door and called after her.

"I don't know whether you've noticed but I'm not exactly dressed to blend into Victorian life."

Aderyn stopped walking and sighed "Come with me then."

Clara followed Aderyn along the landing and fidgeted angrily when Aderyn snapped at her to wait outside. The room Aderyn went into was clearly, from the small glimpse Clara got of it, Jenny and Vastra's room. Clara was able to briefly see a pair of swords on a cabinet and Vastra's veil hanging from the wardrobe door before Aderyn closed the door behind her. After a few minutes, Aderyn emerged again. She was carrying a bundle of clothes.

"You're closer to Jenny's size then mine. These should fit you. If you have flat shoes, then wear them. This isn't going to be a stroll in a park." Aderyn said. She then vanished into her own room.

Clara retreated to the privacy of her room to change. The clothes Aderyn had given her were heavy but comfortable. The skirt seemed to be made of nothing but layers. There was beautiful cotton that was mostly visible under the deep green that covered three quarters of it. The top matched the cotton pattern and colour of the skirt. The jacket Aderyn had given her was made of a thick velvet that was a deep, dark green. The clothes fitted almost perfectly, though she was certain she would trip over the hem of the skirt at some point.

When she had finished changing, she went down stairs. Aderyn was waiting in the hall. She too was wearing dark green. But unlike Clara, she wore smartly fitted trousers instead of a skirt. Her hair, which Aderyn felt was in need of a cut, had been hidden under a dark green bowler. Clara had never seen Aderyn dressed as a man before, and was surprised by how convincing she was. Her chest had been bound and the white shirt she wore was, only slightly, too large. But this was carefully disguised by the fitted black waistcoat she was currently buttoning up in front of the hall mirror. Clara didn't realise she was staring until Aderyn snapped "Stop staring please."

Clara looked at her feet as she walked down the stairs, being careful to lift the front of the skirt.

The day was fresh and bright as Clara and Aderyn left Paternoster Row. Clara had to walk quickly to keep up with Aderyn. She wanted to look around and take her time. But Aderyn had other ideas. She strode forward with purpose and tutted loudly when she had to stop to let Clara catch up.

"Where are we going then?" Clara asked breathlessly as she drew level with Aderyn.

"I have a manuscript that is ready for publishing then we'll go somewhere to find out about the Doctor." Aderyn said shortly. She didn't expanded on exactly where they would be going to get information about the Doctor. And when Clara asked, Aderyn refused to give her a straight answer.

"Okay, so how are you still getting published in modern London when you live in Victorian London?" Clara asked eventually.

"I send them to my publisher and she sorts it out. We have an arrangement, you see. I send the manuscripts in this time, to a certain address where they sit and wait for how ever many years." Aderyn said.

Clara frowned "But doesn't she get suspicious because of how old they are by the time she gets them?"

Aderyn smiled "No. She knows about the whole time travel thing. Though that was a strange one to explain. Just don't tell the Doctor. He won't be too happy." Clara fell into a thoughtful silence as they entered the post office. Aderyn chatted happily with the woman behind the counter who, Clara noted, kept calling Aderyn 'Felix'.

As they stepped back into the crowded streets, Clara cleared her throat politely "Um...Felix?"

Aderyn shrugged "Victorian Values. I hate them." Clara stayed quiet as she followed Aderyn off the main road and down a small side street. The sun didn't seem to be able to penetrate the dank streets and alleys behind the tall buildings. There were few people down these roads, and most of them were dishevelled and scruffy. They watched Clara and Aderyn as they walked passed. But Aderyn paid them no attention. Clara watched closely. As Aderyn walked passed a woman, the woman held out her hand. Aderyn took something from her and passed her something in one swift movement. Aderyn carried on walking as though nothing had happened and the woman smiled at Clara as she went passed. Whatever the woman had passed to Aderyn had quickly disappeared into the recesses of her waistcoat pocket before they re-emerged into the bustle of people.

Aderyn was walking slower now, she seemed almost at ease with the world for the first time since the Dinosaur had deposited the TARDIS by the Thames. It wasn't until they were walking along Paternoster Row that Aderyn inspected what had been passed to her. It was a small slip of paper. She looked at it, shook her head, then put it back in her pocket.

"No news of the Doctor." she muttered. When they walked into the kitchen of the house, Aderyn told Clara to stay where she was before she ran up the stairs. She came back a short time later armed with a long hunting knife, which she hid in her high boots.

Before Aderyn pulled open the kitchen door again she turned to Clara "We're about to do something that could be quite dangerous if we're not careful. If you want to survive you need to stay close to me and do exactly as I tell you." She said it so seriously that Clara didn't dare respond with anything other than a nod.

"We're going to sort out something I have been looking into for some time. I need to move quickly now. When we get there, you'll need to stay out of the way." Aderyn explained as she lead Clara down the street and into an alley "How's your climbing?" She didn't wait for an answer. She started to climb the side of the building, easily finding foot and hand holds. She hadn't gone far up the wall before she realised Clara hadn't followed. She climbed back down and, with surprising strength, lifted Clara until she was able to reach a protruding brick. From her position on the floor, she guided Clara until she reached the top. Aderyn was able to scale the building easily. She paced around the roof, constantly looking down.

"What do we do now?" Clara asked nervously.

"We wait. I just need to convince someone that they're making a mistake." Aderyn said.

"The assault on the Shades?" Clara asked.

Aderyn nodded. "The Shades is only a few back streets but someone is trying to claim them as their own. But we've been watching him."

Clara didn't know what else to say so she just watched as Aderyn stared out across the streets. She was starting to drift into an uncomfortable sleep when Aderyn hissed suddenly.

Clara opened her eyes. Dusk had fallen and the streets below them were darkening quickly in the shadow of the tall buildings. Aderyn was led flat against the roof. "Stay here. But keep an eye out. If you see anyone else coming then whistle." she whispered. She then pulled herself over the edge of the roof. Clara heard her land in the street below and cautiously peered over the edge.  
_

Aderyn was stood in front of a very large, fearsome looking man.

The man grinned horribly at Aderyn "Well, well, well. What have we got 'ere then?"

"Here." Aderyn said.

"What?"

"Here. There word is here. Not 'ere. There's a H at the beginning." Aderyn said.

"Think you're so 'igh an mighty cos you know how to speak proper." The man growled. He took a step closer to Aderyn. She stood her ground.

"No. I think I'm 'igh an mighty, as you so eloquently put it, because I don't beat people up for no reason."

The man laughed raucously "Who's gonna stop me? You?"

Aderyn shrugged "If I have to. But I have a code of conduct to adhere to. So this is a warning. Stop before it's too late for you."

The man continued to laugh "Let me guess, you've been sent by the Veiled Detective. She's too scared to come herself so she's sent 'er lil pet." He ran at Aderyn. She stepped to one side and he crashed into a wall.

"You see the problem with this day and age," Aderyn said calmly "Is that people do delight in jumping to assumptions. The warning is not from Madame Vastra. It's from me."

The man climbed to his feet and looked Aderyn up and down.

"I don't think you'll be able to stop me." He snarled. As he lunged at Aderyn, she grabbed his arm and threw him to the floor. In a blur of movement, she reached inside her boot and drew the knife. She held it to his throat and whispered harshly in his ear "You have had your warning. Now there is no need to be polite." She stepped away from him.  
_

Clara pulled herself away from the scene unfolding below her and looked around. There were more people coming. There were three large men walking down the alleyway, heading straight for Aderyn. She whistled loudly.  
_

Aderyn heard the whistle and disappeared into the shadow of a doorway. The man climbed to his feet and looked around. He didn't see her. The other men joined the first, who turned angrily to face them "We move tonight. The Veiled Detective and 'er cronies will be brought to an end."

In the shadows Aderyn sighed and shook her head. She cleared her throat quietly and put to use a trick that Vastra had taught her "You had your warning." Her voice bounced off of the buildings. Vastra had taught her how to throw her voice. And it did come in useful. The men looked around trying to see where the voice had come from. She stepped from the shadows.  
_

Clara was surprised by Aderyn's speed and agility. A few well placed kicks and well timed dodges, and Aderyn was soon the only one left standing. She knelt next to the first man "You've had your warning. I will no longer be nice. If you try anything now it will be so much worse for you. I advise you to hand yourself into the authorities." She stood and quickly scaled the building, back to Clara, who was staring at her open mouthed. Clara gold fished for a few seconds, opening and closing her mouth several times. Aderyn raised an eyebrow "That was being nice?" Clara stuttered.

"I could have done a lot more damage," Aderyn said quietly. She peered over the roof and watched as the men below gathered themselves together and ran. "Hopefully that's done it. Come on, lets get back."

Clara looked down at the street below them. "How am I meant to get down there?"

Aderyn hadn't thought of that, she had to admit. This was the sort of thing she was too used to doing by herself, or at least with Jenny. Both of them were swift and agile climbers. She hadn't taken into account that Clara may not be as efficient a climber as she was.

"Don't argue, don't complain and don't draw attention. Oh, and hold on." Aderyn said at last.

"What are you going to do? Hold on to what?" Clara asked suspiciously.

Aderyn didn't answer. She lifted Clara, throwing her over her shoulder. Clara instinctively clung to Aderyn's clothing. She bit her lip to stop herself screaming as Aderyn swung herself off the ledge of the roof and quickly ascended, landing lightly on the pavement in a few seconds. As soon as Clara had realised how Aderyn was planning on reaching the ground, she'd closed her eyes tightly. She kept them closed until she felt Aderyn straighten up again.

"You can let go of me now." Aderyn said.

When Clara's feet hit solid ground, she sighed with relief. "No one needs to know about that." She muttered.

They walked back to Paternoster Row in silence. Jenny was still bustling around when they arrived.

"Good evening." she said happily.

"No news of the Doctor," Aderyn said, taking off her jacket and hanging it by the door "And my warning was issued. We'll have to keep an eye on things but that should be the end of it."

Jenny and Clara followed Aderyn as she walked into the kitchen. She took the knife from her boot and put it on the kitchen table, casually leaving it there as she filled the kettle and put it on the stove.

Jenny looked at the knife then up at Aderyn "Please tell me that isn't all you took with you."

"I was there to warn, not to harm." Aderyn said.

"But they are dangerous. All you took was a knife?"

Aderyn turned to face her and shrugged "I was still armed."

Jenny looked at Aderyn with an anger that Clara could never have imagined. She had assumed they would never be angry with each other. They way they had spoken to each other in the past, and the casual way they joked, Clara knew that it would have to be something serious for Jenny to be angry with her. And Aderyn was being so laid back about it.

"Be careful. Rule number one." Jenny shouted.

Aderyn looked at her innocently "I thought rule number one was don't get drunk."

"I'm starting to think UNIT is starting to get to your head slightly." Jenny huffed then stormed out of the kitchen.

"What did I say?" Aderyn asked.

"You put yourself in danger I guess." Clara replied.

"I was armed." Aderyn protested.

"I always thought you were clever." Clara said "But now, you're being a bit dim." Clara realised too late that this wasn't the right moment to make such a comment.

"Don't ever assume you know me." Aderyn spat bitterly. Without saying another word, Aderyn filled a teapot, picked a cup and left quickly.

When Clara made her way up to her bedroom, she could hear muttering coming from Aderyn's room. This was punctuated by the occasional pop or fizzle and some well chosen swear words.

Rule number one? Clara couldn't remember a single occasion where Aderyn had been careful. She was too much like the Doctor in that respect. Reckless and foolish at times. Careful was not her style.

The following morning, Aderyn and Jenny seemed to have forgotten any anger they had from the previous night. But Aderyn appeared to be making more of an effort to avoid Clara.


	8. You Don't Need To Flirt

No matter where Aderyn seemed to go, she couldn't be left alone. She tried to settle in the library so she could go through newspapers. But Clara was there. She went into the conservatory, but Strax soon blundered through to clean.

But Aderyn had a skill for finding somewhere she could be left to her own devices. And sometimes the best place to go to be left alone, was wherever Vastra was. Especially if an unwanted guest wouldn't leave her alone. Vastra had become skilled at reading Aderyn's moods. Particularly if she wanted to be left alone. Vastra and Jenny had got too used to Aderyn being around, which was probably why neither were currently phased by Aderyn being sat in the corner writing busily, while Jenny posed awkwardly in a corset and shawl and Vastra worked. They were both equally unphased by Aderyn's occasional comments.

"Spontaneous combustion." Vastra mused.

"Is that like love at first sight?" Jenny asked, trying not to fidget too much.

"A little. It is the theory that human beings can, with little or no inducement, simply explode." Vastra replied.

Aderyn was caught between cringing internally and finding the comment endearing "You don't need to flirt, you're already married. It's scientific nonsense, of course."

"What marriage?" Jenny turned slightly to face Aderyn and Vastra tutted.

"I was referring to combustion. Marriage IS scientific nonsense. But that doesn't make it awful." Aderyn muttered.

"There have been nine reported incidents of people apparently exploding in the last month." Vastra said.

"They can't be spontaneous." Jenny said.

"No, of course not. I think whoever killed the dinosaur had at least nine previous victims. All of these perished in the same spectacular fashion." Vastra said. She started to turn the easel she'd been working at and Aderyn stood to get a better view of it. There were newspaper cuttings stuck to it as well as several notes and bits of string connecting them.

"Why have I been posing?" Jenny snapped.

"You brighten the room tremendously. Chin up a little." Vastra said kindly.

"Please remember what I said about the flirting," Aderyn said, leaning close to the easel "Now, why destroy the victims so completely? It's difficult, it draws attention. What advantage is to be gained?"

"Concealment." Vastra ventured.

"Conceal what though?" Jenny mused.

"By destroying the body so completely, you conceal what is missing from it?" Aderyn guessed.

They heard a shout outside the door and Clara burst through it, excitedly waving a newspaper. "Look!" She exclaimed, holding the paper open to a double page of adverts.

"Advertisements, yes. So many. It's a distressing modern trend." Vastra said, clearly confused. But Aderyn looked closely at it. She grabbed the paper from Clara and flattened it out on a table. She pointed at an advert. _Impossible Girl. Lunch on the other side?_

Vastra looked over Aderyn's shoulder "The game is afoot. We're going to need a lot of tea."

Strax obliged in bringing them a large pot of tea as the four of them mused over the advert.

"There appears to be nothing of significance in the rest of the newspaper. Not even in the agony column." Vastra said. She opened the paper back to the page with the advert and placed in back on the table.

"We can't know it's from the Doctor." Jenny said evenly.

Clara tutted "Of course it's from the Doctor. The Impossible Girl, that's what he calls me."

"He says lunch, but not where or when." Aderyn said. She had started pacing as she so often did when she was thinking. Vastra and Jenny seemed unphased by it, but Clara found it annoying. She was used to the Doctor pacing, though it some how bothered her when Aderyn did.

"Other side of London? Bit vague." Jenny said.

"Other side of the regeneration perhaps? When he's recovered." Vastra guessed.

Clara sighed "So what am I supposed to do, guess where we're meeting?"

"Perhaps that's the point. Perhaps you're supposed to prove that you still know him. Think what that must mean for a man who barely knows himself." Vastra said.

"You're being a bit too deep and meaningful." Aderyn said. She walked over to the table and picked up the paper, looking closely at the advert "The Doctor doesn't do puzzles. He doesn't have the attention span. So, keeping it dead simple. On the other side." She held the paper up to the light. They could see an advert on the other side of the Doctor's advert. Aderyn flipped the page over. Mancini's Family Restaurant, the Best Dinner in London, the advert declared.


	9. Sweeney Todd Without the Pies

It wasn't difficult for them to find out where Mancini's Family Restaurant was. Aderyn had passed it several times. Though it was far more difficult for them to decide on the best route to get there that didn't involve sprinting across rooftops. Clara couldn't help but wander how much time Aderyn spent on the ground. She seemed to know Victorian London better by the roofs than the streets. Jenny eventually told Clara that she and Vastra never relied on Aderyn for directions as there was little to no chance of her telling them a route that involved being on the ground. And it was often more time consuming to try and figure out which buildings and streets Aderyn was referring to based on her descriptions of the rooftops.

But they got there eventually, Aderyn, Vastra and Jenny watching from a safe distance as Clara crossed the street and pushed open the door to the restaurant. She found an empty table set in an alcove and slid onto the curved bench. She fanned herself lazily with the newspaper she had taken with her and looked around the restaurant. Considering how many customers were there, the whole place was alarmingly quite. She dropped the paper and waited.

The smell was the first thing that reached her. She knew someone was there before she even saw them. She looked around and the Doctor was sat next to her. She picked up the paper again and tried to waft the smell away from her face. The coat the Doctor wore was large and dark and Clara highly suspected that coat was the source of the pungent smell.

"What's wrong?" The Doctor asked.

"I don't know." Clara said "Maybe the smell."

The Doctor raised his bushy eyebrows "I know, it's everywhere."

Clara fanned the paper quicker "Where did you get that coat?"

The Doctor chewed nervously on his thumb nail "I bought it."

Clara raised an eyebrow "Where?"

"A shop." The Doctor said quickly.

"No."

"Might have been a tramp."

Clara grimaced as the Doctor fidgeted and the movement caused the smell to intensify. "You don't have any money."

"I had a watch." The Doctor admitted.

"No. That watch was beautiful." Clara said, slapping the paper onto the table.

"It was my favourite." The Doctor agreed.

"You swapped your favourite watch for that coat. That was not a good deal." Clara said.

"Well, I was in a hurry. There was a terrible smell." The Doctor smiled.

"No." Clara snapped "No. Don't smile. I will smile first and then you know it's safe to smile."

The Doctor's face dropped "Are you cross with me?"

Clara forced a smile " I am not cross. But if I was cross it would be your fault." Her smile turned to a glare "And yes I am cross."

"I guessed that." The Doctor muttered.

"I am extremely cross."

The Doctor leant back in his seat "And if I hadn't changed my face, would you be cross?"

"I would be cross if I wasn't cross."

"Why?" The Doctor asked. Somehow he knew that trying to figure out why Clara was cross would some how be more challenging than trying to ascertain whatever was annoying Aderyn. And Aderyn appeared perpetually annoyed these days.

Clara let out an exasperated sigh "Why? An ordinary person wants to meet someone that they know very well for lunch. What do they do?"

"Well, they probably get in touch and suggest lunch."

"Okay, so what sort of person would put a cryptic note in, in a newspaper advert?"

The Doctor missed the rising anger in Clara's tone "Well I wouldn't like to say."

"Oh, please do." Clara spat.

The Doctor allowed himself a half smile "Well, I would say that person would be an egomaniac, needy, game-player sort of person."

"Thank you. Well at least that hasn't changed." Clara said with sarcastic cheer.

"And I don't suppose it ever will."

"I don't suppose it will either." Clara said pointedly.

The Doctor looked at her sternly "Clara, honestly, I don't want you to change. It was no bother, really. I saw your advert, I figured it out. I'm happy to play your game."

Clara stared at him, confused " No. No, no. I didn't place the ad. You placed the ad."

The Doctor shook his head "No, I didn't."

"Yes, you placed the ad, I figured it out. Impossible Girl, see? Lunch on the other side." Clara opened out the paper, showing the advert to the Doctor.

"You figured that out?" The Doctor smirked.

"Ok, no. Aderyn did." Clara sighed.

"But look. That is a message from the Impossible Girl."

" _For_ the Impossible Girl." Clara argued. They both fell suddenly quiet, caught in an awful thought.

"If neither of us placed that ad, who placed that ad?" The Doctor asked quietly.

"Hang on, egomaniac, needy game player? That was me?" Clara slapped the Doctor's shoulder. She regretted it quickly as a cloud of dust and smell filled the air.

"Never mind that." The Doctor hissed.

"I am minding that. You were talking about me?"

"Clara, what is happening right now in this restaurant to you and me is more important than your egomania." The Doctor said.

"Nothing is more important than my egomania." Clara said quickly.

"Right, you just said that."

Clara pointed a threatening finger at the Doctor "And you never mention that again."

"It's a vanity trap." The Doctor explained, quickly moving the subject on "You're so busy congratulating yourself on solving the puzzle, you don't notice that you're sticking your head in a noose." He ran his fingers through his hair, plucking out the odd one and let it drift slowly to the floor.

"What are you doing? And that isn't the only grey one, if you are having a cull." Clara asked.

"Do you have a problem with the grey ones?"

Clara cocked an eyebrow at him "If I got new hair and it was grey, I would have a problem."

"I bet you would." The Doctor muttered, letting another hair fall. "Too short." In a swift movement, he reached across a pulled a single hair from Clara's head.

"Ow!"

"Sorry, it was the only one out of place. I'm sure that you would want it killed." He said.

"Are you trying to tell me something?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes "I'm trying to measure the air disturbance in the room." He held the long hair out and let it go. Even Clara could see how slowly it fell to the floor. That didn't seem right. "There is something extremely wrong with everybody else in this room."

"Basically, don't you always think that?"

"Look at them." The Doctor said. When Clara turned her head to take in the other customers, he hissed "Don't look. Look without looking."

"They look fine to me. They're just eating." Clara tutted.

"Are they?"

Clara looked at the nearest table. A woman was eating soup. But she wasn't really eating. The soup spoon was lowered to the bowl without reaching the soup. It was then raised without ever touching lips. And lowered again. Glasses and cutlery all around them was brought up and down without food or drink being consumed.

"No. They're not eating." Clara whispered.

"Another thing they're not doing," The Doctor said softly "Breathing."

Clara swallowed "How long before they notice that we're different?"

"Not long."

"What do we do?" Clara panicked.

"How long can you hold your breath?"

"We could just walk out of here, like we've changed our mind." Clara said.

"Happens all the time." The Doctor reasoned.

They stood. With a clatter of clockwork, the other diners stood. Clara and the Doctor stepped around the table. The other diners took a step towards them.

"Maybe we should have another look at the menu." Clara said. They sat again. So did the diners.

They both picked up the small menus that were on the table and a waiter walked over to them.

"Do you have a children's menu?" The Doctor asked. The waiter didn't say anything. Instead he shone a small green light on the Doctor "Any specials?"

"Liver. Spleen. Brain stem. Eyes." The waiter said.

"Is there much demand for that?" Clara asked.

"I don't think that's the menu. I think we are the menu." the Doctor said "Excuse me." He reached up and pulled the waiter's face. The face came away with surprising ease, revealing a metal mesh beneath. They could just see a flame behind it.

"Ok. Robot in a mask." Clara breathed.

"It's a face." The Doctor said. He leant across the table, covering Clara's face with the mask.

"Yes. Very convincing." Clara said, her voice muffled.

"No, I mean it's a face."

Disgusted, Clara took the face from the Doctor's hands and threw it to the floor.

"Yes." The waiter said.

The Doctor frowned "Yes what?"

"Yes, we have a children's menu." The robot waiter said.

Clara and the Doctor jumped when metal arms appeared from the bench and fastened around their arms and legs. The Doctor looked down at their bindings. Small metal hands clasped their restraints together and when he struggled, the Doctor found he was being held tightly. The bench began to descend.

"You've got to admire their efficiency." the Doctor said.

"Do you mind if I don't." Clara said as she wriggled against her bonds. 

The bench stopped moving with a jerk like a halting lift. They had descended into a large circular room. There were alcoves set into the walls. Each alcove held a person. None of them moved. On a chair in the centre of the room was another figure, sat perfectly upright and unmoving.

"Hello? Hello, are you the manager? I demand to speak to the manager?" The Doctor said angrily. The figure on the chair didn't move or make a sound. In fact, the figure gave no signs that they were aware of the arrival of Clara and the Doctor at all.

Clara sighed "This isn't a real restaurant is it?"

The Doctor shook his head "Well now, it's more a sort of automated organ collection station for the unwary diner. Sweeney Todd without the pies."

"Where are we now?" Clara asked.

"Factually? An ancient spaceship, probably buried for centuries. Functionally? A larder." The Doctor shrugged.

"Why hasn't somebody come for us?" Clara asked, wanting her hands to be free so she could waft away the smell that was being produced as the Doctor began to fidget and wiggle.

"We're alive." the Doctor said casually.

"We're alive in a larder."

"Exactly." The Doctor stopped moving, suddenly keeping very still "It's cheaper than freezing us."

Clara looked at him. She could just see the tip of the sonic screwdriver protruding from an inside pocket of the coat.

"Are you ready?" The Doctor asked.

Clara tried to slouch as much as possible, trying to extend the reach of her legs. She nodded. "Go for it."

"Don't let it roll away. We've got one shot at this." The Doctor warned. Clara nodded and the Doctor shook the sonic screwdriver from his pocket. It clattered to the floor and rolled.

Clara reached out on foot towards it "I can just about reach it." she said.

The Doctor sighed "It's at times like this I miss Amy." He said quietly.

Clara had been able to kick the sonic screwdriver closer to her. She now held it between her feet "Who?" She snapped. The Doctor shook his head. "Ready?"

"Don't miss." The Doctor said. He wriggled his arms in the restraints, ready to catch the screwdriver. When Clara flicked it up to him, it landed in his lap. Judging by his suddenly pained expression, Clara guessed the sonic had landed somewhere slightly lower than she was aiming for.

"Sorry." She said guiltily. The Doctor was only just able to reach the sonic with his fingertips and moved it closer. When he closed his hand around it, he freed himself from the restraints, then quickly freed Clara.

As they both stepped away from the bench, Clara looked around at people in the alcoves.

"Doctor?"

"Dormant." The Doctor said without looking at them.

"How do you know?" Clara asked.

"I don't." The Doctor confessed "I'm just hoping." He tip toed towards the figure sat in the chair.

"So, is it these guys that killed the dinosaur?"

"Well, if they're harvesting organs, a dinosaur would have some great stuff."

"Why would robots need organs?" Clara chuckled "Burke and Hare from space?"

"No, but that's a good theory. Droids harvesting spare parts. That rings a bell." The Doctor stopped in front of the robot in the chair. "Captain, my Captain." he muttered.

"Can he see us?" Clara asked, cautiously walking towards the Doctor.

"Dormant."

"Hoping?"

The Doctor nodded. He looked closely at the chair the robot was sat on "Oh, look. He's recharging. He's asleep. Doesn't even know we're here."

"Okay. So, half-man, half-robot. A cyborg, yeah?" Clara walked around the chair and stood next to the Doctor. The robot in the chair was different to the rest. Only half of the face resembled a face. There was a metal mesh beneath it, much like that of the waiter. And one eye was completely exposed.

"Look at the hands." The Doctor said suddenly. Clara did what she was told. The hands were completely different to each other. One had was rugged and worn, the other looked as though it had never done a hard day's work in it's life. "See this, this is not your normal cyborg. This isn't a man turning himself into a robot. This is a robot turning himself into a man, piece by piece."

"That's what the restaurant is for?" Clara asked.

"Well, it would need a constant supply of spare parts. You can tan skin, but organs rot. Some of that metalwork looks Roman. Wonder how long it's been around, how much of the original is even left? The eyeballs look very fresh, though."

The robot's arms moved suddenly. They snapped up and rested on the arms of the chair, clinging to it.

Clara and the Doctor backed away slowly, heading for the only exit they could see. But just as they reached it, the Doctor stopped just short of the archway and looked around the room.

"I've seen this before. I'm missing something."

"Doctor!" Clara hissed.

The Doctor didn't move. Clara ran back through the archway and grabbed the Doctor. She pushed him through it.

Behind them, the half faced robot lifted its hands and pressed a small button concealed in it's palm. The door of the archway dropped suddenly, with Clara still in the room. The Doctor tried to sonic the door open again, but it didn't lift far enough for even Clara to slip through. The half faced man began to unplug himself from the chair.

"Sorry, too slow. There's no point in them catching us both." The Doctor said sadly.

"Then give me the screwdriver." Clara said.

"I might need it." The Doctor let the door close fully, turned on his heel, and ran down the corridor.


	10. Five Foot One and Crying

When the Doctor ran from the restaurant, he could see neither Vastra nor Jenny. And he was certain they wouldn't have let Clara enter without being nearby. So he ran the short distance from Mancini's to Paternoster Row. Vastra and Jenny were both there. They seemed nervous and were both dressed for combat. "I need your help." He shouted as soon as he burst into the house. "Where's Aderyn?"

"She's not here." Vastra said "She was meant to be keeping an eye on Clara. What do you need our help with? Where is Clara?"  
_

The Half Faced man walked over to the bench. If he was surprised to find it empty, he showed no signs. He looked around the room, clearly looking for the Doctor and Clara, although he had no clue who he was looking for. Clara stood as still as possible. The robots in the alcoves all activated at once. They moved out of their places and into the room. One opened the door. This was Clara's chance. If she could only think of a way of getting around them without being noticed. She then remembered the Doctor had told her one thing they weren't doing. They weren't breathing.

"How long can you hold your breath?" The Doctor in Clara's memory said. She took a deep breath and held it as the Half Faced man walked towards her. He tilted his head with a grinding of gears before turning away. A single tear trailed down Clara's cheek as she moved towards the door, imitating the stiff, jerky walk of the robots around her. She got into the corridor just as bright colours invaded the corners of her vision. She didn't know how much longer she would be able to hold her breath for. As soon as she felt far enough away from the robots, she broke into a quick walk. She turned a corner and froze. The corridor looked endless and was full of robots. Her vision went cloudy and started to go dark. Her lungs felt like they were going to burst. She took a deep breath and the darkness swept across her.

They say that just before you die, your life flashes before your eyes. There is a theory that this is so you can use life experiences to find a solution to your demise. it wasn't Clara's life that flashed before her eyes, it was one horrific memory. A memory of her first day teaching at Coal Hill school. The class was unruly and she threatened to have them all expelled. One girl had laughed harder than the rest and told her to do just that, knowing that it had been an empty threat, knowing that was an impossibility.

When Clara started to come to, she was being carried by a robot. When she came round completely, she was led on the floor in front of the Half Faced man, who was once again seated.

"Where is the other one? There was another. Where is he? Where is the other? You will tell us, or you will be destroyed." The Half Faced man demanded.

"What did you say?"

"You will tell us." The Half Faced man repeated.

"Yeah, I know. Or what?"

"You will die."

Again Clara remembered the girl in her class encouraging her to go through with her threat. That awful memory was proving useful. "Go on, then. Do it. I'm not going to answer any of your questions, so you have to do it. You have to kill me. Threats don't work unless you deliver." Clara said, standing.

"You will tell us where the other one is."

Clara crossed her arms across her chest "Nope."

"You will be destroyed."

Logic, Clara reasoned, was her only weapon right now. "Destroy me, then. And if you don't, then I'm not going to believe a single threat you make from now on. Of course, if I'm dead, then I can't tell you where the other one went then. You need to keep this place down here a secret, don't you? Never start with your final sanction. You've got nowhere to go but backwards."

The Half Faced man seemed to consider what she said "Humans feel pain."

"Bigger threat to smaller one." Clara said triumphantly. "See what I mean? Backwards."

"The information can be extracted by means of your suffering."

Clara's legs shook with nerves "Are you trying to scare me? Well, cos I'm already bloody terrified of dying. And I'll endure a lot of pain for a very long time before I give up the information that's keeping me alive. How long have you got?"

The Half Faced man stood and moved towards Clara. She tried to hold her fear and not let it be shown.

"All you can offer me is my life. What you can't do is threaten it. You can negotiate." Clara said. She was uncertain how she was managing to keep up the show of confidence.

The Half Faced man removed one of his hands, attaching it to his lapel. Where the hand once was, was now a harsh flame. Clara couldn't keep up the confidence much longer. And it started to fail as her tears started to fall.

"Okay, yes. Yes, I'm crying and it's just because I am very frightened of you. If you know anything about human beings, that means you're in a lot trouble." She stammered.

"We will not negotiate." The Half Faced man said.

"You don't have a choice. I tell you what. I'll answer your questions if you answer mine. We'll take turns. I'll go first. Why did you kill the dinosaur?"

"We will not answer questions." The Half Faced man said.

"Why did you kill the dinosaur?" Clara repeated.

"We will not answer questions."

"Then you might as well kill me, because I'm not talking again till you do." Clara uncrossed her arms and rested her hands on her hips.

Again, the Half Faced man thought about his position "Within the optic nerve of the dinosaur is material of use to our computer systems."

"You burned a whole dinosaur for a spare part? No. No, hang on. You know what's in a dinosaur's optic nerve, which means you've seen them before." Clara said. She was starting to feel like she was getting the hang of this. She was starting to think like the Doctor.

"Where is the other one?"

Clara ignored the demand "How long have you been rebuilding yourselves? Look at the state of you. Is there any real you left? What's the point?"

"We will reach the promised land."

Clara tried not to appear to alarmed at the robot's willingness to answer the question "What's that?"

"Where is the other one?" The Half-Faced Man demanded again.

Clara shook her head, tears flowing freely now "I don't know. But I know where he will be. Where he will always be. If the Doctor is still the Doctor, he will have my back." She reached a hand hopefully behind her. It was fear that now kept the hope alive, hope that the Doctor was still, as much as possible, the Doctor she had come to know. "I'm right, aren't I? Please, please let me be right." She whispered to herself.

And she was right. Someone soon grabbed her hand and swung her round, putting himself between her and the Half-Faced Man.

For a second, Clara didn't believe she was really safe. It looked like one of the clockwork people had stepped in. But no. Hands reached up and pulled away the face. It was the Doctor. "Hello rubbish robot people." He said loudly. He waved his hand at Clara while looking at the Half-Faced Man "Five foot one and crying. You never stood a chance." He slipped his sonic screwdriver into the recharge port of the chair and the lights went down. "You could have done something you know." He snapped suddenly, turning and looking at Clara.

"Hey, I did what I could." Clara shouted.

The Doctor frowned at her "Oh, not you." He pointed behind her. She turned. Another robot lifted its hands and pulled away it's face.

"She was doing fine by herself." She said, throwing the face to the floor at the Doctor's feet and turning to Clara "Like he said, five foot one and crying. They never stood a chance."

Clara rounded on Aderyn "You were there the whole time?"

Aderyn shrugged "You thought Vastra would have let me send you into the unknown by yourself?"

"Hey I was here." The Doctor protested.

Aderyn looked him up and down "Like I said. The unknown."

As Aderyn and the Doctor bickered, they were oblivious to the robots that began to crowd around them. When Clara finally thumped the Doctor on the shoulder, he looked around.

"Ah." he said.

Aderyn turned on the spot then looked up at the opening in the ceiling above them. She then looked back at the Half-Faced man.

"Any last words?" the Half-Faced man said.

Aderyn smiled "Vatican Cameos." She didn't look up again as two long strips of fabric descended from the opening. At the end of each strip of fabric was a figure, unwinding at speed as the fabric dropped. As they reached the end, Vastra and Jenny landed neatly on the floor either side of Aderyn. They each drew their swords. Aderyn slipped her hands into the folds of her jacket and withdrew two short batons. She lowered them with a jerk and both extended to long staffs. She twirled them in her hands. Stood between Vastra and Jenny, all three of them holding weapons, cast a formidable scene. Clara was aware that the Half-Faced man and the assembled robots wouldn't have felt any fear or trepidation in regards to the three people stood in front of them, but she did know that she felt a wave of fear as she looked at them. This fear vanished when another figure landed next to them. Strax screamed as he fell through the opening and landed on his stomach on the floor.

Jenny groaned "I've told you before. Take the stairs."

Strax stood up and smiled sheepishly "Sorry."

The Doctor sighed "Oh look, the cavalry."

The Half-Faced man paid no heed to the newcomers "I burned an ancient, beautiful creature for one inch of optic nerve. What do you think you can accomplish, little man?"

"What do you? Vastra?" The Doctor said coolly.

Vastra turned to address the Doctor "The establishment upstairs has been disabled with maximum prejudice and the authorities notified."

"Hang on, she called the police? We never do that. We should start?" Clara said.

"You see?" Aderyn said sarcastically "Destroy us if you will, they're still going to close your restaurant?"

"Do you have the ability to be anything other than sarcastic?" The Doctor hissed.

Aderyn shrugged "If I find out then I'll let you know."

"We will destroy you." The Half-Faced man said. As soon as the words left his mouth, the assembled robots each raised an arm. Their hands gave way to shining, sharp blades as they all stepped closer to the group.

"No, you won't. You're logical. You have restraint. You killed to survive. You're not a murderer." The Doctor said.

"He's not a what? Need I remind you this is a slaughterhouse?" Aderyn spat.

"And how does that make it any different from any other restaurant? You weren't a vegetarian last time I checked." The Doctor said. He then looked back at the Half-Faced man, who was the only robot not approaching them "This is over. Killing us won't change that. What would be the point?"

"To find the promised land." The Half-Faced man replied.

"You're millions of years old," Aderyn said kindly "It's time that you knew, there isn't one."

"I am in search of paradise." The Half-Faced man continued, undeterred by Aderyn's revelation.

"Yeah, well, me too. I'm not going to make it either." The Doctor said, moving through the crowd of robots and standing in front of the Half-Faced man.

The Half-Faced man knocked the Doctor out of his way and went to the bench Clara and the Doctor had descended on. "I will leave in the escape capsule. Destroy where necessary" He said.

"Escape capsule?" Vastra frowned "This ship is millions of years old. It'll never fly."

"It has been repaired." He replied.

"What with?" Aderyn asked dubiously.

"You."

"Defensive positions everyone." Strax cried as the robots drew nearer.

"Doctor, he's getting away." Aderyn said. Aderyn was the only one who noticed the Doctor slink away.

"Your friend is intelligent. He'll know better then to follow me." The Half-Faced man said as the bench began to rise. They all saw the Doctor holding on to a bar beneath it.

"It is our intent to leave," Vastra said to the assembled robots "If it is your intent to stop us, perhaps we should get down to business."

Vastra and Jenny both held up their swords, holding them out in front of them. Aderyn twirled the batons in her hands again and held one across her chest, the other held out, pointing at the nearest robot. Strax raised his gun, the four of them surrounded Clara, all aware she was the only one unarmed.  
_

The Half Faced man was unaware of the Doctor's presence until he heard the gentle trickling of liquid. He turned to see the Doctor pouring a glass of whiskey.

"What are you doing?" He asked the Doctor.

The Doctor put the decanter and glass on the table in front of him " I've got the horrible feeling I'm going to have to kill you. I thought you might appreciate a drink first. I know I would."

The Half Faced man walked over to a control panel set into a wall and pulled a small lever. The Doctor heard the unmistakable sound of gears grinding.

"Fifty first century, right? Time travelling spaceship crashed in the past. You're trying to get home the long way round." The Doctor said conversationally.

"I go to the promised land." The Half Faced man said.

The Doctor frowned "So you keep saying. Okay, so your restaurant is made out of your old ship. But you're wasting your time. It can't ever fly." The Doctor stood and walked between the tables, casually picking up a posy from one table and smelling it.

"The escape pod is viable."

"How?" The Doctor scoffed "You can't patch up a spaceship with human remains. You know, this really is ringing a bell." The room shook and the Doctor realised he had walked straight into the escape pod "That's clever. How are you powering it?"

"Skin." The Half Faced man said.  
_

Vastra, Jenny and Strax continued to circle Clara.

"How many do you reckon?" Vastra asked.

"More than upstairs. About twenty, thirty?" Jenny said.

"The ones upstairs were mere decoys. These are battle ready. I anticipate a challenge." Aderyn said. It took a moment for Clara to register that it had been Aderyn that had spoken and not Vastra. For a moment Clara forgot to be scared of their current dilemma as she couldn't help but think that maybe being around Vastra so much could, one day, mean that Aderyn would see sense and see that Clara wasn't the enemy. There had been more than one occasion when Aderyn had sounded or acted like Vastra. But Clara was brought back to her fear by Strax turning to look over his shoulder at her.

"Don't worry, my boy, we shall die in glory."

"Ok. Good." She muttered.


	11. Hold Your Breath!

Now they were in the air, the Half Faced man seemed to not care about the Doctor. The Doctor inspected the control panel and removed an unimportant looking fuse. He looked at it. Inscribed on the side of it was the name SS Marie Antoinette.

"Out of control repair Droids cannibalising human beings. I know that this is familiar, but I just can't seem to place it." The Doctor said, putting the fuse back.

"How would you kill me?" The Half Faced man asked.

"Sister ship of the Madame De Pompadour. No, not getting it." The Doctor continued to muse.

"How would you kill me?" The Half Faced man asked again.

The Doctor poured two fresh glasses of whiskey and walked over to the table where the Half Faced man sat. He put one glass down in front of the robot and sat opposite him. "Why don't you have a drink first. It's only human."

"I am not human."

The Doctor shrugged "Neither am I." The Doctor looked out of the window as the drifted over the Cathedral "What do you think of the view?"

"I do not think of it."

"I don't think of it. I don't." The Doctor corrected "Droids and apostrophes, I could write a book. Except you are barely a droid any more. There's more human in you than machine. So tell me, what do you think of the view?"

"It is beautiful." The Half Faced man replied after a short pause.

"No it's not. It's just far away. Everything looks too small. I prefer it down there. Everything is huge. Everything is so important. Every detail, every moment, every life clung to." The Doctor said solemnly,

"How could you kill me?" The Half Faced man asked.

The Doctor frowned "For the same reason that you're asking me that question, because you don't really want to carry on. What'll happen to the other droids when you die? You're the control node, aren't you? Presumably they'll deactivate."

"I will not die. I will reach the promised land." The Half Faced man said, almost sadly.

"There isn't any promised land. This is just. It's a superstition that you have picked up from all the humanity you've stuffed inside yourself." The Doctor said.

"I am not dead."

The Doctor smiled suddenly "You're a broom." The Half Faced man turned to face the Doctor and tilted his head, confused "Question. You take a broom, you replace the handle, and then later you replace the brush, and you do that over and over again. Is it still the same broom? Answer? No, of course it isn't. But you can still sweep the floor. Which is not strictly relevant, skip that last part. You have replaced every piece of yourself, mechanical and organic, time and time again. There's not a trace of the original you left. You probably can't even remember where you got that face from." The Doctor reached to the table behind him and picked up a silver tray. He then held it up so the Half Faced man could see his reflection. In the back of his tray he saw his own reflection. There was something so familiar about this face. Why had he chosen this face?

The Half Faced man stood. "It cannot end."

The Doctor dropped the tray nosily and stood "It has to. You know it does. And there's only one way out." He opened the doors.

"Self destruction is against my basic programme." The Half Faced man said, joining the Doctor at the door.

"And murder is against mine." The Doctor said.  
_

Despite their best efforts, Vastra, Jenny, Strax and Aderyn were unable to hold off the army that surrounded them. Vastra's sword had been knocked from her hand, Jenny's sword arm was being held in a tight grip and Aderyn had been surrounded so closely that she had no space to swing the staffs she held. Each robot held up a blade and they all moved the blades closer to exposed throats.

"Hold your breath!" Clara said suddenly. "They're stupid. Everybody hold your breath."

There was a sudden stillness as they all held their breath. The robots paused and lowered their weapons, but none of them retreated. Out of the corner of her eye, Aderyn could see that she and Vastra were the only ones who weren't struggling. Already tired and in a state of panic, Clara's eyes were already starting to water. Exhausted from battling, Jenny wobbled precariously. Aderyn knew that Vastra could store oxygen in her lungs. She would be fine for a while. But she would keep Jenny alive. And that would deplete her supplies. She looked away from Jenny and Vastra as Vastra pulled Jenny closer to her. Aderyn's own respiratory bypass was proving useful. She didn't have to take breaths as often as humans. But more often than Time Lords. Though she would be alright long enough to help the others. She slipped her hand into her pocket and withdrew her sonic screwdriver. For someone so tall, she was able to get through alarmingly small spaces. She carefully picked her way through the confused robots and walked across to the door. She looked back. Clara looked fit to collapse and Strax was turning his gun on himself. She quickly sonicked the door. When it opened she positioned herself in front of it and took a deep, loud breath. The robots turned to her. She stood in the archway, taking long deep breaths until the robots began to move towards her. She walked backwards, keeping the robots in her sights while making sure they could see her. When they had all made it through the archway, the door closed. Instantly, Clara took several shuddering breaths before coughing violently. Strax lowered his weapon. Vastra ran to the door and looked through the small window. But she could see neither Aderyn or the robots.

Jenny picked up the staffs Aderyn had dropped. She pocketed one before pointing the other at the door. There was a whir and a few seconds of a pale blue glow before the door opened.

"They're a bit sonic." Jenny said when Clara frowned at her.

When they emerged from the remains of Mancini's family restaurant, they followed the crowds until they came across the wreckage of the escape pod. Vastra and Jenny searched through the wreckage but there was no sign of the Doctor.

Strax collected the carriage and drove the women home.

"You're sure he'll be there?" Clara asked.

"Where else would he go?" Vastra said.


	12. How I am Meant to Resist a Keep Out Sign

When they reached Paternoster Row, the first thing they noticed was the lack of TARDIS in the courtyard.

"I fear we have missed him." Vastra said. Clara trailed reluctantly behind her as she made her way into the house.

The second thing they noticed was the absence of Aderyn. Jenny soon overtook them and ran through the house, checking Aderyn's rooms, the bathroom, the library, the kitchen, anywhere she thought Aderyn would be. But there was no sign of her. Jenny tried to hide her concern as she went back to the kitchen and began to make tea.

A day passed without event and without any sign of the Doctor or Aderyn. Clara was expecting another mundane day when she dressed in her normal clothing, which had been neatly washed and hung up by Jenny (who seemed to distrust Strax with any smart or delicate clothing). By early afternoon Clara resigned herself to being stuck in Victorian London for longer then she had hoped. She had nothing against Vastra or Jenny, in fact she quite liked them. And Strax was mildly amusing most of the time. It was because of Aderyn she had no desire to stay. Yes Aderyn had saved her life, but she was certain that Aderyn had acted to save Jenny and Vastra, and had little desire to help Clara. And Aderyn had been there the entire time Clara had been near pleading for her life. She could have stepped in at any point. But she hadn't done anything until the Doctor had found her. And above all else, she couldn't shake the feeling that Aderyn would be back.

She tucked her hair nervously behind her ears and she approached the conservatory. She could hear Jenny and Vastra talking quietly. She cleared her throat as she stood in the doorway.

"Don't stand on ceremony, dear." Vastra said.

Clara sat in the seat opposite Vastra, catching a brief glimpse of Jenny's worried face before she rushed from the room.

"Is she ok?" Clara asked.

"She will be fine as soon as Aderyn contacts her." Vastra said. "It's very rare that Aderyn will be away for a whole day without even a message."

"But what about when she's back in modern London? I mean, my London. She works for UNIT. Surely UNIT isn't around this early." Clara frowned.

Vastra picked up a small slip of paper. It looked old and plain. Even in it's blankness, Clara recognised psychic paper. "She always sends us a message. Usually just to see how we are or to complain. And likewise, Jenny sends her messages or warnings. But so far there has been complete communication silence from Aderyn."

"I can't help but feel you would know if Aderyn was hurt." Clara tried to smile comfortingly but stopped when she realised it might look like she was happy at the thought of Aderyn being hurt. She was relieved when Vastra smiled.

"You are correct. But I think not knowing where Aderyn is doesn't help." Vastra looked thoughtful for a second then dropped her voice to a near whisper "There will, of course, be some ramifications when she gets back. Rule number one."

Clara sat back in her chair, feeling strangely more relaxed "Aderyn has never struck me as the careful type. Certainly not when it comes to protecting Jenny."

Vastra smiled again "There you have, as they say, hit the nail on the head. There was a time when Jenny and Aderyn were inseparable. More like sisters then friends. The Doctor ensured that the two met when they both needed a friend. They have their disagreements but only when one of them has done something stupid to help the other. There is so much more to their friendship then you could understand. And far more to Aderyn then you would believe."

Clara sighed "Well, I doubt I'll ever find that out considering how much she hates me."

"Do you really believe that?" Vastra frowned.

Clara was spared the awkwardness of the silence that followed when Jenny bustled back into the conservatory. She placed a tea tray on the small table before hurrying out of the room again, Vastra and Clara both frowning after her. When she returned she was holding a cup. She added this to the tray and proceeded to pour four cups of tea. She picked up two. Sipping on her own tea, she held the other out. A second later, Aderyn strode in, a bag slung over her shoulder and whistling happily. She took the tea from Jenny and smiled at her. The smile didn't last long. It was soon slapped away as Jenny's hand connected with her cheek. Vastra looked at the psychic paper and realised it was no longer blank. There was a one word message in Aderyn's neat handwriting. _Tea?_ Jenny had clearly seen it when she had brought the tea tray in.

"I deserved that." Aderyn said, the sound of the slap still ringing in her ears.

"Rule number one?" Jenny demanded.

Aderyn clearly had to think about that before answering "Is not don't get drunk?" She guessed

Jenny put her free hand on her hip and glared.

"Don't wind her up Aderyn." Vastra said.

"I was careful." Aderyn said "In fact, I even cleared up afterwards. They all just deactivated of their own accord. Seemed a waste to just leave them there." she dropped the bag at her feet. There was a heavy clang as it hit the floor.

"And what is that for?" Jenny snapped.

"Tinkering." Aderyn said. She shrugged at Vastra and Clara as Jenny stormed passed her. She pushed her bag behind a chair and flopped onto the sofa, wiping the blood from her split lip on her sleeve.

"I do wish you wouldn't use your sleeve for that. It's such a persistent stain." Vastra said.

"Blame your wife for that one." Aderyn said, rummaging in her pocket and eventually finding a handkerchief "Though I don't think she's ever hit me that hard before. That was a slap to be proud of." she drained her cup quickly.

Vastra chuckled. But her laughter was soon drowned out by the wheeze and groan of an ancient time rotor. Clara sprang to her feet and ran to the door.

"Clara?"

Clara turned to look back at Aderyn.

"Give him Hell. He'll always need it." Aderyn smiled. Clara ran from the conservatory, out of the front door and into the TARDIS.  
_

The Doctor was stood by the console. The Console had changed completely. But Clara recognised it. When there had been three Doctors in the TARDIS and the future version of Aderyn, the TARDIS console had switched between all the consoles it could, including this console. The segmented rings at the top of the time rotor held Gallifreyan symbols. A gallery surrounded the room and there were many bookcases. There were round things on the walls and the controls on the console looked more confusing then ever.

"You've redecorated." Clara said lightly.

"Yes." The Doctor said.

Clara wrinkled her nose "I don't like it."

The Doctor shrugged "I'm not completely convinced myself. Is Aderyn home?"

Clara nodded.

The Doctor shifted uncomfortably "Wait here. I won't be long."

"I don't think she's in a good mood." Clara informed him.

"Oh she never is." The Doctor said, closing the door behind him.  
_

"Go away!" Aderyn shouted as someone knocked on the door again. She bent low over the delicate tool she was working on, sonic screwdriver in hand. She gritted her teeth and hissed as the door was pushed open. Without turning she snapped "There is a sign on the door you know."

"That keep out sign? How am I meant to resist a keep out sign?" The Doctor said as he closed the door behind him. He patted his pockets as though suddenly forgetting something. He held out the psychic paper.

"It's a bit late for that, Doctor."

"I tried." The Doctor shrugged.

"I'll give you points for trying but I'll also have to deduct points for timing."

"Still sarcastic then?" The Doctor picked up a small object that seemed to be a series of cogs and metal wires.

"Sarcasm works for me. Please be careful with that, it's unpredictable." Aderyn said. The Doctor gently put the thing down as it let out a small fizz and puff of smoke. Aderyn put the sonic screwdriver to one side and turned to face him. "Can I help you with something? I'd have thought you'd have whisked Clara away by now."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I've been a bit rubbish at the whole parenting thing recently," The Doctor put his hands behind his back and looked around the room. There was more then one work bench littered with cogs, wires and bits of metal. There were drawings and schematics pinned to the walls "What are you up to in here?"

"Tinkering. I've been able to come up with a few helpful devices." Aderyn said, forcing a cheerful tone.

"Like what?"

Aderyn took an eye piece out of a drawer and handed it to him. It was the same eye piece she had been wearing when the dinosaur had arrived in the Thames "It's a type of scanner. It can scan anything and anyone and stores information on an internal hard drive."

The Doctor held it up to his eye "This is cool. How did you make it?"

"I took apart one of my old handheld scanners and an eye drive. And then there's these."

He handed the eye piece back to her as she held out two short batons. The Doctor took one. He had seen her use these back in the restaurant. Aderyn held the other one at arms length. She thrust it in a sharp, downwards motion and it extended smoothly. Aderyn stood. Fully extended these batons were long. The Doctor observed that Aderyn was only an inch shorter than he was and the baton, touching the floor, reached her shoulder. She twirled it easily and held it out to the Doctor. He spotted the small, multi coloured buttons set into the centre point of it, right where Aderyn had held it. He resisted the urge to find out what they did.

"The green button is sonic, the blue button is electric," She pressed the small blue button and the ends sparked "The red button extends a blade from one end."

"And the yellow button?" The Doctor asked.

Aderyn smiled and pressed the button. As quickly and smoothly as it had extended, the elongated ends zipped back into their housing. "Now, you didn't come here to talk about gadgets."

The Doctor gave Aderyn back the baton "I just wanted to make sure you were ok. I didn't really get a chance to do that earlier. I just kind of left you here and didn't come back."

"I'm fine, Doctor. Really I am. Being left here was my choice. I've got my own life as one of the Paternoster Peculiars. We've developed quite a name for ourselves. Madame Vastra is the Great Detective and we are the Paternoster Peculiars. But it works for me. And I'm working part time for UNIT still." She turned back to what she'd been working on.

"So you're fine here? Happy?" He asked.

"Yes. Happy and healthy."

"That's good. I'll leave you to it then. I won't expect you to drop anything to go on an adventure through time and space at any point." He smiled to himself.

"I didn't say that. It's boring time travelling by yourself. I don't know how you ever did it. Now you'd better run along and get Clara out of my way," She said with a smile. When he didn't move she looked over her shoulder at him "Go on then, Doctor. I hope you're not waiting for a hug. I don't like hugs."

"I'm fine with that." He said as he left.

"And sort your eyebrows out." She shouted as the door clicked closed.


	13. I'm Not Sure You Get a Vote

When the Doctor reentered the TARDIS, the atmosphere was awkward. The Doctor went straight to the console and he entered some coordinates, aiming to take Clara home.

"I'm the Doctor. I've lived for over two thousand years, and not all of them were good. I've made many mistakes, and it's about time that I did something about that. Clara, I'm not your boyfriend." He said quietly.

"I never thought you were." Clara said, equally as quiet.

"I never said that was your mistake." The Doctor pressed a button and the TARDIS engines sprang into life.

After a seemingly long silence, Clara couldn't stay quiet "Who put the ad in the paper?"

"Who gave you my number? A long time ago, remember? You were given the number of a computer help line, and you ended up phoning the TARDIS. Who gave you that number?"

"The woman in the shop." Clara said.

"Then there's a woman out there who really wants us to stay together." The TARDIS landed with it's familiar wheeze. "How do you feel on the subject?"

"Am I home?"

The Doctor looked sadly at his feet "If you want to be."

Clara sniffed "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry but I don't think I know who you are anymore."

She jumped as her mobile phone started to ring.

The Doctor sighed and turned back to the console "You'd better get that. It might be your boyfriend."

"I don't have a boyfriend." Clara tutted. She took her phone from her pocket and exited the TARDIS, making sure the door was closed behind her before she answered "Hello?"

"It's me."

Clara frowned "Yes it's you. Who is this?" There was something in the voice she recognised.

"It's me. It's the Doctor."

Clara almost dropped her phone "What do you mean the Doctor?"

"I'm phoning you from Trenzalore. From before I changed. I mean it's all still to happen for me. It's coming."

Clara didn't doubt it was the Doctor, her Doctor, that she was talking to now "Why? Why would you do this?" She hissed.

"Because I think it's going to be a whopper, and I think you might be scared. And however scared you are, Clara, the man you are with right now, the man I hope you are with, believe me, he is more scared than anything you can imagine right now and he needs you."

The TARDIS door opened and Clara turned to look at the Doctor. "Who is it?" He asked.

"Is it the Doctor?" The Doctor on the phone asked.

"Is it the Doctor?" The Doctor in front of her asked.

"Yes." She said.

The Doctor on the phone groaned "He sounds old. Please tell me I didn't get old. Anything but old. I was young. Oh, is he grey?"

Clara smiled "Yes."

"What does he look like?"

Clara looked at the Doctor in front of her. She had no idea how to say what he looked like now. Nearly every feature had been covered with old and grey. But there was one way she could you describe him. "Aderyn." she said "He looks like Aderyn."

She heard the Doctor chuckle on the other end of the phone "Like Aderyn but old and grey. Clara, please, hey, for me, help him. Go on. And don't be afraid. Goodbye, Clara. Miss ya." The line went dead.

Clara looked down at her phone and sniffed.

"Well?" The Doctor asked.

"Well what?"

"He asked you a question. Will you help me?"

"You shouldn't have been listening." Clara snapped.

" I wasn't. I didn't need to. That was me talking. You can't see me, can you? You look at me, and you can't see me. Have you any idea what that's like? I'm not on the phone, I'm right here, standing in front of you. Please, just see me."

Clara looked at him. She studied his face "It's not just the fact you've changed your face that is so terrifying." She said quietly "It's that I look at you and I see Aderyn. I don't think you know how much you look like her now. And she hates me. How do I know that's not who you will be? How am I meant to know that you are still the Doctor?" She met his gaze.

"Because I'm the Doctor and I came back." The Doctor said.

She saw it in his eyes. It was always his eyes that gave him away, gave away that, above all else, he was the Doctor. She walked slowly to him.

"Thank you." she said,

"For what?" The Doctor frowned.

"Phoning." Clara said. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him.

"I don't think that I'm a hugging person now." The Doctor said.

"I'm not sure you get a vote." Clara said, finally letting him go.

"Whatever you say." The Doctor said, too relieved to argue.

"This isn't my home, by the way."

The Doctor looked around "Sorry. I missed."

"Where are we?"

"Um, Glasgow."

Clara grinned "You'll fit right in."

"Do you want to go and get some coffee, or chips, or something? Or chips and coffee?"

"Coffee would be great. You're buying."

"I don't have any money."

Clara rolled her eyes "You're fetching, then."

"I'm not sure I'm the fetching sort." The Doctor said.

"Yeah, still not sure you get a vote." Clara held on to the Doctor's arm as they walked away from the TARDIS in search of coffee.


	14. That 'I'm Going to Slap Someone' Look

SOME MONTHS LATER

Aderyn paced around the TARDIS console. She folded her arms and tutted loudly. The Doctor paid no attention to her. Instead he continued to stare at the scanner screen. He was dangerously unaware of Aderyn's bad mood. He finally noticed when Aderyn pulled the scanner screen away from him and crossed her arms again as she stared at it.

"So what are we dealing with?" She snapped.

"You've got that look." The Doctor commented.

"What look?" Aderyn asked innocently.

"That 'I'm going to slap someone' look." The Doctor said.

"Oh you noticed then. I was starting to get worried that I was actually going to have to slap you." Aderyn retorted.

The Doctor opened and closed his mouth several times. He knew he must have done something wrong. But he just couldn't figure out what it was. He had done what he always did and he couldn't work out why Aderyn was so annoyed. He had shown up promising adventure and she had come along with him. If she didn't want to then she didn't have to.

"OK, what have I done this time?" He asked eventually.

"I had plans."

"You could have said that."

Aderyn raised an eyebrow and stared at him "You said it was an emergency and you needed my help. You're not even telling me what the emergency is or what I need to do. And why are we at Clara's?" Regardless of the fact that Aderyn hadn't seen the Doctor since he left Paternoster Row a few months ago, she had done what she always did. As usual, when the Doctor had told her there was an emergency she had run to his side. The Doctor had told her that, despite his regeneration, everything would be the same. But this regenereation seemed to have left the Doctor without a complete grasp of situations. At least the previous Doctor had been able to tell when she wasn't happy and even would have ventured a couple of guesses as to the reasons. He had normally got the right answer fairly quickly. He used to be talkative, now he was sullen and a little bit sulky. Aderyn hoped that this was just due to how early it was in his regeneration still.

The Doctor looked down at the console "Is that where we are?"

Aderyn sighed as the TARDIS door swung open and Clara happily walked in.

"I think I'll take the helm whenever you're distracted." Aderyn muttered.

"So where are we off to?" Clara asked, excitedly running up to the console.

The Doctor pushed the scanner screen further away from Clara and smiled at her "Clara, you look lovely today. Have you had a wash?"

Clara frowned at him "Why are you being nice?"

"Because it works on you. Listen, I'm sorry but there's going to be no trip today. I'm sorry. I've got to do a thing. It might take a while."

"What thing?" Clara looked over at Aderyn, hoping she'd give something away. But Aderyn just shrugged.

"Just a thing." The Doctor said.

Clara crossed her arms and tapped her foot "You're being mysterious, and do you know what means?"

"I'm a man of mystery." The Doctor guessed.

"It means that you are a very clever man making the mistake, common to very clever people, of assuming that everybody else is stupid. Where are you going?" Clara leapt towards the scanner screen. But as she grabbed it and swung it round, Aderyn pressed a button and the scanner showed a picturesque view of the galaxy.

"We're going undercover. Deep undercover." The Doctor said.

Clara looked from Aderyn to the Doctor then back to Aderyn "Can he do undercover?"

"What do you mean?" The Doctor asked.

Aderyn sniggered "Have you seen you?"

"You're faith in me is astronimical," The Doctor flicked a hard stare between Aderyn and Clara "I can do deep cover."

"Where, the Magic Cirlce?" Clara joked.

"She's on top form today." Aderyn muttered and smiled at Clara.

With a click of his fingers, the TARDIS door opened. He pointed at Clara "I'll see you when I see you," He then pointed at Aderyn "And you can leave as well if you're not going to be helpful."

Aderyn raised her hands in submission but continued to smile.

Clara backed out of the TARDIS, throwing a glare at the Doctor and Aderyn as she slowly closed the door behind her.

When the door was closed, Aderyn switched the view on the scanner and stared at the map again. The map was of East London.

"So what are we going to do?" Aderyn sighed.

"We are going undercover. But we can't tell her what's going on." The Doctor said sternly.

When the Doctor had given her a rought idea of what they would be doing, Aderyn sighed.

The Doctor stared at her with some confusion when she took her phone from her pocket and sent a quick message.

"You didn't just tell her did you?" The Doctor asked.

Aderyn stuffed her phone back into her pocket as the Doctor craned his neck to look at the screen.

"No." Aderyn snapped "I told you I had plans. And I've just had to cancel them."


	15. Deep Cover

**I apologise for how long it has been since I last updated this story but I have been very busy with work and illness and visiting the Doctor Who experience for the last time before it closed down. I will have more chapters uploaded soon.**

* * *

Clara walked down the school corridor towards the teacher's lounge when she bumped into another teacher. She smiled, then realised that other people, mainly students, were able to see her and stopped.

"Mister Pink." She said politely as she drew level with him.

Danny Pink smiled at her "Good morning Miss Oswald." He said, just as politely.

As a group of girls walked passed them, they giggled amongst themselves, looking over their shoulder at Clara and Danny, then laughing again.

"Do you think they know?" Clara whispered.

Danny smirked "Possibly. They're children. It's like they've got minds of their own." He allowed his hand to brush lightly against Clara's as she pushed open the door to the staff room.

All the teachers were there. The Headmaster had told them they all needed to be there as he had an announcement. There was a buzz of curiosity until the Headmaster cleared his throat.

"I'll keep this brief, but as you know the caretaker is going to be off for some time, as is Sarah. So I have found a couple of stand ins." There was a knock at the door. "And here they are." As the headmaster went over to the door, Clara heard two familiar voices muttering outside the door. The door was flung open and The Doctor and Aderyn smiled into the room.

Clara gaped, open mouthed, at them. The Doctor had a broom in one hand and wore a long brown coat over his usual jumper. Aderyn had a bag slung over one shoulder and a physics textbook clutched in one hand.

"This is our new caretaker, John Smith. And physics teacher, Aderyn Tyler."

"Just call me the Doctor. Most people do." The Doctor said, smiling broadly. There were mutterings of 'Hello' that were only interrupted by the school bell.

As Aderyn spoke to the headmaster, Danny Pink approached the Doctor.

"Welcome to Coal Hill, Mister Smith." Danny said, extending a hand towards the Doctor.

Aderyn was looking over the headmaster's shoulder at Clara, her gaze flitting briefly to Danny. She smiled a knowing smile that only Clara saw.

The staff room emptied, but for Clara and the Doctor.

"What are you doing here?" Clara hissed.

"So you recognised me, then?" The Doctor said.

"You're wearing a different coat. But what are you doing here?"

"Deep cover." The Doctor replied.

"Deep cover in my school? Why? Is it aliens? Oh, my God, is that why you're here? Are there aliens?" Clara said as the Doctor pushed her towards the door.

"Listen, it's lovely talking to you, but I've really got to get on. I'm a caretaker now. Look, I've got a brush."

"Doctor, is there an alien in the school?" Clara dug her heels into the floor.

"Yes, me. And partly Aderyn. Now, go. The walls need sponging and there's a sinister puddle."

Clara sighed "Are the kids safe?"

The Doctor frowned "No. Nobody is safe. But soon the answer will be yes, everybody is safe, if you let me get on. Now, pretend you don't know me. Stay out of my way. The less you know, the better. I'll explain it all later."

Clara shook her head as the door was closed behind her "I hate you." She muttered.

The Doctor pulled the door open wide enough to stick his head out "That's a perfectly normal reaction." The door closed again with a click.  
_

Clara made her way to her own class. Thankfully she had no lesson first thing, but Aderyn did. She walked passed the physics room just as Aderyn strode into it.

"So, physics. Physics, eh? Physics. Physics. Physics! Physics. Physics, physics, physics, physics, physics, physics, physics. I hope one of you is getting all this down. Okay let's see what you know. Two identical strips of nylon are charged with static electricity and hung from a string so they can swing freely. What would happen if they were brought near each other?" Aderyn said.

Clara sighed. She had hoped that Aderyn would be better at this than the Doctor. But it looked like she was wrong. When a young boy correctly answered Aderyn's question, she smiled.

"Correctamundo! A word I have never used before and hopefully never will again."

Clara couldn't bear to watch and retreated to her own classroom, where she finished off her lesson plan, feeling less than happy about having both Aderyn and the Doctor at the school.

When the second lesson bell rang, Clara prepared herself for the lesson. As the students entered the class room, they were talking excitedly. And from what Clara heard, it was mostly about how awesome Aderyn's lesson had been. She hid her sigh of relief. Ok, so she didn't need to worry about Aderyn, but the Doctor could NOT blend in with human life.


	16. Back to Your PE Class

Clara didn't know how she was going to cope having Aderyn and the Doctor at the school. Aderyn quickly became a favourite with teachers and students alike. But the Doctor was not accustomed to living amongst humans who were blissfully unaware of the dangers and wonders that were out in the universe. And the Doctor was likely to say something really stupid.

She paid little attention to much over the next couple of days, instead choosing to keep a close eye on the Doctor whenever she could. She couldn't risk him messing up her normal life. She couldn't risk him messing anything up with Danny. It was still early days and she had no intention of scaring him away just yet.

But her fears were realised when she walked passed the school courtyard and glanced out of a window. There was the Doctor, fiddling with a junction box and chatting happily with Danny Pink and Adrian. He smiled pleasantly at Adrian (Clara thought this had much to do with the bow tie Adrian often wore) but frowned frequently at Danny.

She entered the courtyard as quickly as she could and snuck closer to the Doctor.

"Of course, Danny Pink here is your man, Mister Smith. Five years' military experience, sergeant, here and Afghan, so electrics, boilers, if you need a hand, give him a shout." Adrian was saying.

"I've helped out before." Danny said.

The Doctor's frown deepened "I'm sure I won't need you, Sergeant. Fully qualified." He poked at electrical wires with a screw driver and flinched as they sparked "You best get back to your PE class."

"I teach maths." Danny said.

The Doctor looked at Danny with an expression Clara recognised as one he saved fro truly stupid people "Do you? When? In emergencies?"

"No, I'm a maths teacher?"

Adrian clapped the Doctor on the shoulder "It's true. He's a maths teacher."

The sound of breaking glass drew Adrian's attention away from the Doctor and Danny and to a student at the other side of the courtyard.

Clara snuck closer to the Doctor, wondering how close she could get before they realised she was there.

"But he said you were a soldier." The Doctor said.

"I was. But now I teach maths."

Clara knew this was the point she would have to step in before the Doctor started to lecture Danny on how he couldn't possibly be a maths teacher.

"Mister Pink, I'm sure there's a class waiting for you." Clara said.

Danny smiled at Clara, frowned at the Doctor and then excused himself.

Clara looked after him, but from the corner of her eye, she saw the Doctor place a small device in the junction box. It was a dark circular devoice with three green lights on it. He quickly shut and lock the junction box when he realised she'd seen it.

"What are you doing? What did you put in there?" Clara demanded.

The Doctor leant casually on the junction box "Is he here then?"

Clara frowned "Who?"

"The one that you keep going on serious dates with."

Clara crossed her arms "If he is will you act like a normal human being?"

"I'm being nice." the Doctor said defensively.

Adrian approached behind Clara and put a gentle hand on her shoulder "Clara, you've got this period free, yes?"

Clara nodded.

"Good, still willing to help me with the new Shakespeare module revision?"

Clara nodded again "Of course."

When she turned back to the Doctor he was smiling at her "Oh, I see." He said.

"You see nothing." Clara hissed and followed Adrian.


	17. When Have You Started Taking Her Side?

With most of the teachers either in the staff room or in classes, Aderyn trailed behind the Doctor as he made his was to the caretaker's storeroom. He stopped outside the door and dropped another small device into a hanging basket.

When he opened the storeroom door, Aderyn walked passed him and went straight to the TARDIS, which was parked neatly in a corner. The Doctor followed her in and the TARDIS console sprang into life.

"So what are we up against?" Aderyn asked, lifting herself to sit on the console.

"I have a hunch." The Doctor replied. "And I do wish you wouldn't sit there."

Neither of them heard the door to the store room open.

A young girl walked in "Hello?"

She spotted a strange green glow and walked towards it.

Aderyn and the Doctor heard her approaching in enough time to dash out of the TARDIS and close the door before she reached them.

"There's been a spill in geography. I need some paper towels." The girl demanded as soon as she saw the Doctor and Aderyn.

"Courtney, I've already had to speak to you about manners." Aderyn snapped at her.

Courtney rolled her eyes "There's been a spillage in Geography. Can I please have some paper towels?"

The Doctor didn't move "Can't you read?"

"Yes." Courtney said uncertainly.

"There's a sign on the door. It says keep out."

"No. It says go away humans." Aderyn whispered to the Doctor.

The Doctor tutted and marched to the door, pulling it open and ripping the sign off of it "So it does. Never lose your temper in the middle of sign writing." He muttered.

Aderyn grabbed a large quantity of paper towels off of a shelf and handed them to Courtney. "You better sort out that spillage." She said.

"What's that box?" Courtney asked.

"The caretaker's box. Every caretaker has their own box." The Doctor said.

"It says police."

The Doctor thought about it for a few seconds " Exactly, there's a policeman in there, in case of emergencies and children."

"But what was that green glow?" Courtney persisted, fighting against Aderyn's attempts to move her from the storeroom.

"What is a policeman without a death ray?" The Doctor said.

"You're not helping." Aderyn hissed at him.

"I'm going to tell the Headmaster." Courtney declared.

"Oh, yes, fine. Well, cut along, you're running out of time." The Doctor said. Aderyn stopped shoving Courtney towards the door and threw her hands up in despair.

"Time for what?"

"Everything. Human beings have incredibly short life spans. Frankly, you should all be in a permanent state of panic. Tick tock, tick tock."

Courtney smiled at him "You're weird."

"Yes I am. And what about you?"

"I'm a disruptive influence."

Aderyn sighed "There's no need to sound quite so proud about that."

Courtney pulled open the door and Aderyn turned back to the TARDIS. The first she knew of another arrival was when she heard Courtney mutter "Ozzie loves the squaddie."

Clara frowned after Courtney and Aderyn sighed again. She had to find out what was going on and she still had a lot of marking to do. She couldn't deal with anymore interruptions.

"What was she doing here?" Clara asked.

"Paper towels." Aderyn said.

"I imagine you have lots of questions," The Doctor said "Fire away, I won't answer any of them."

Clara appealed to Aderyn for help. But Aderyn shrugged. She hadn't been told a lot about what they were dealing with so she had practically no idea.

"What were they like?" Clara asked.

"Who?" The Doctor asked.

"The others before me. Did they let you get away with this sort of thing?" Clara crossed her arms. "The school is in danger."

"Well it's lucky I'm here then." The Doctor smiled smugly.

"From you." Clara snapped.

Aderyn hid her smile behind her hand.

"Me?" The Doctor shouted.

"You wouldn't be here if there wasn't an alien threat nearby. Your strategy for dealing with it involves endangering this school." Clara said.

"She's got you there." Aderyn muttered.

"You don't know that." He said to Clara before glaring at Aderyn "And when have you started taking her side?"

"When she started making good points." Aderyn shrugged.

Clara sighed "I don't know anything because you haven't told me anything, which means I wouldn't approve, which means you are endangering this school."

"You haven't even told me anything about this." Aderyn said.

The Doctor drew his sonic screwdriver from his pocket and activated it. A large green globe appeared in front of them. Clara moved around it so she was stood between Aderyn and the Doctor.

"What's that?" Clara asked.

"It's a scanner." Aderyn said.

"I'm scanning." The Doctor said "Why do I keep you around?" He looked down at Clara.

"Because the alternative would be developing a conscience of your own. Scanning for what?" Clara said. Again Aderyn had to hide her smile.

"Any alien technology in this vicinity should show up. I used to have a teacher exactly like you once." The Doctor said.

Clara looked at him and nudged his ribs "You still do. Pay attention."

The Doctor activated the sonic screwdriver again and they were all looking at the image of a squat alien with four mechanical looking legs.

"What is that?" Clara asked.

"Skovox Blitzer." Aderyn breathed, fear evident in her voice "One of the deadliest killing machines ever created. Probably homed in here because of artron emissions. You've had enough of them in this area over the years. There's enough explosive in its armoury to take out the whole planet."

"Um, artron emissions?" Clara asked. She'd heard that before but fear and worry had left her unable to think where she'd heard it or what it was.

"Time travellers absorb artron energy as they go through the Time Vortex. As does the TARDIS. She practically runs off the stuff."

"Leave it alone." Clara said.

The Doctor shook his head sadly "Sooner or later it will creep from its hidey-hole and some military idiot will try to attack it." He switched off the image "The world is full of PE teachers." He turned away from them and went into the TARDIS.

Clara and Aderyn followed him in.

"So, your insanely dangerous plan is?" Clara asked.

The Doctor held up his wrist, showing them both an ordinary looking wristwatch.

"A new watch. Tiny bit disappointed." Aderyn said. She sat on her favourite spot on the console.

"This is a special watch." The Doctor said. He pressed a button on the watch and disappeared. Aderyn and Clara grinned.

"You're invisible. That is incredible." Clara laughed, looking around the console room, trying to get an idea where the Doctor was.

The Doctor gave away his location when Aderyn was launched forcefully off the TARDIS console. As always, she landed elegantly on her feet, laughing.

"I am invisible and I am incredible. It's simply a matter of reversing light waves." The Doctor reappeared behind Aderyn. Like the two women, he was smiling. "So, I give the Blitzer a tiny whiff of non-threatening alien tech, I lead it back here, but I don't want it to scan me, hence invisible."

Clara and Aderyn stopped smiling.

"So you're leading one of the most dangerous beings here?" Aderyn said.

"To the school? To my school?" Clara walked over to the Doctor and thumped his shoulder.

"My school? Oh, that is telling." The Doctor retorted "This is the only suitably empty place in the area. I've set up a circle of time mines around the school. Chronodyne generators. Bit unstable." He threw one of the generators to Clara. Both her and Aderyn had seen him planting them around the school, though neither of them had known what they were. " I switch them on, the Blitzer gets sucked into a big old time vortex, billions of years into the future. It's dead easy. Tiny bit boring. I'll need a book and a sandwich."

"And me. You're not doing this without me." Clara snapped.

The Doctor shrugged "I don't need you this time. I've got Aderyn. I'll see you tomorrow. We'll go somewhere nice. Ancient Egypt. Crocodilopolis. They worship a big crocodile there, so the name is a useful coincidence. Go and canoodle with your boyfriend. Come on. I wasn't born yesterday. Far from it."

Clara looked at Aderyn, who sighed "Well, at least I have my uses. Best do as he says. There'll be no other option when he's in this mood."

"Go home and canoodle." The Doctor repeated "Doctor's orders."

Clara smiled. There was really no harm in doing just that. As long as Aderyn was with the Doctor, it wasn't likely that he would do anything stupid. She would keep an eye on him. And she had been somewhat distant with Danny recently. The Doctor had been turning up at the worst moments as of late and she had once arrived at a date with Danny with seaweed in her hair. At least now, the date night they had planned could go ahead without any interruptions.


	18. He Doesn't Seem Like a Caretaker

When Danny finally looked up at Clara, he smiled. But the smile didn't last long when he saw her frowning thoughtfully as she approached him.

"Mister Pink." She smiled.

"Miss Oswald," Danny smiled back. He lent close to her and whispered "Are you still on for tonight? Cos you had your I'm about to cancel frown on."

Clara frowned again "There's a specific frown?"

Danny nodded "And I was going to say, it's okay, I might have a thing, so..."

Clara tried not to show the disappointment she felt. She finally had a night to spare, a night she knew for certain the Doctor wouldn't be arriving unexpectedly and whisking her off to a far off planet or different time zone. And now Danny was the one that was cancelling. "A thing?"

"Yeah, sorry. Tomorrow instead?" Danny said sheepishly.

"Tomorrow is parent's evening." Clara reminded him.

"Not all night." Danny whispered.

Clara hid her grin as a group of students walked passed "No, not all night." She agreed.

Feeling less disappointed and taking it as a sign she really should do the marking tonight while she actually had the time to do it, Clara smiled and relaxed again.

"What do you think of him?" Danny said suddenly.

Clara looked to where Danny was pointing and spotted the Doctor and Aderyn coming out of the caretaker's storeroom. Aderyn was caring a small box that carefully had a few cleaning products poking from the top of it. Clara knew that Aderyn was clever and that the box would just be a cover for why she was in the store room in the first place. Unlike the Doctor, Aderyn knew students, especially teenagers, loved to gossip. Though how no one had figured out that the relation between the Doctor and Aderyn, Clara didn't understand. They looked so much alike it really couldn't be that hard to figure out.

"The caretaker? He's ok." Clara shrugged.

"Where did he come from? What was he before? He doesn't seem like a caretaker." Danny mused.

"He's just a caretaker." Clara said. Despite their conversation being about the Doctor, Clara couldn't help but notice that Danny was watching Aderyn as she went in a separate direction to the Doctor.

"And something's not right with her either. She spends a lot of time with him." Danny added after Aderyn had walked passed them, smiling at them both as she went.

"I think you may be reading too much into that." Clara said quickly.

Danny made a non committal noise then looked round at her "Anyway, I'll see you later. Goodnight Miss Oswald."

"Goodnight Mister Pink." She said quietly as Danny walked away.


	19. You've Made a Boyfriend Error

Danny was glad he had cancelled his date night with Clara. When everyone had left the school, the doors shut and locked, the lights off, Danny snuck back. He had watched, over the past few days, as the caretaker had been placing suspicious looking devices around the school. Tonight he would find out what they were. He wasn't expecting to see anyone in the school, but still crept stealthily as he approached the darkened building.  
_

Aderyn and the Doctor walked confidently down a corridor and out of the building. The school grounds were empty and quiet. The Doctor held up his wrist, finger poised over the button on his watch.

"Let's do this." He said, and pressed the button.

"Allons-y." Aderyn muttered. She turned and ran through a door, back into the school. Everything was in place and she couldn't foresee anything going wrong. She just had to take her place and wait. There wasn't really anything that she had to do. She was more there as back up in case anything did go wrong, or to at least run around fixing any minor issues.  
_

Danny walked around the empty school building. He found the first of the devices on a wall beneath a fire alarm. A green light blinked on it. Danny took it from the wall and the light turned red.  
_

Clara had found it easier than expected to get into the school when it was closed. Something felt strange about being in the school at this time of night. It was as though there was something in the air that turned the normal atmosphere sour. She walked straight to the storeroom and happily threw the door open. "Canoodling cancelled, if you need a hand." She said. But there was no one in the room. The TARDIS was gone.  
_

The Doctor slipped out of the school grounds and stalked the streets, searching. He had seen no signs of the Blitzer but he knew it was here somewhere close by. All scans had shown it was near the school. He finally spotted it. It sensed him but didn't see him.

"Gotcha." The Doctor muttered.  
_

No sooner had Clara walked away from the store room in search of the Doctor, when Danny knocked on the door. "Hello?" There was no answer. He then spotted a small, blinking green light coming from the hanging basket next to the door. He reached in and took out another of the small devices.  
_

The Blitzer couldn't see the Doctor. But it could see the infrared footprints he left behind. The Doctor ran back into the school. The Blitzer followed.  
_

Aderyn stood in the assembly hall and panicked. She just had to wait for the Doctor then ensure that the Skovox Blitzer ended up in the centre of the ring of hard plastic school chairs that were in front of her. Each chair had one of the Doctor's small chronodyne generators stuck to the back of it. The small lights were meant to be green. That was what was meant to happen. The Doctor had told her that if the lights were red then there was a problem. She scanned all of the devices with her sonic screwdriver, trying desperately to find out what the problem was and why all of the lights were red. She had no idea where the Doctor was and how long she had to solve the issue. She didn't think she'd have enough time. And she was right. She was studying the readings from the scans when the doors burst open. She saw no one come through the doors but heard the skidding of Doctor's shoes as he came to a halt.

"I have no idea what happened. They just all changed." She said quickly.

The Doctor deactivated the watch and spun quickly in the centre of the circle "Red? No, no, no. They're not supposed to be red." The Doctor shouted.

Aderyn held her head in her hands "They've been moved." she groaned.

"What has?"

"The ones you put around the building, the ones these ones are connected to...Someone has moved a few of them. The entire system is out of sync." Aderyn said, her voice getting louder and more frantic as she spoke.

They both jumped as the Blitzer came through the door behind them "Range one point four nine scan complete problem problem." The Blitzer said.

The Doctor put his hands up in surrender " Listen. I'm unarmed. I'm peaceful. Don't you understand? I know that you shouldn't be on this planet but I can help you with that."

"Problem solution destroy." The Blitzer lifted its weaponised arms towards the Doctor.

"I want a word with you!"

Aderyn and the Doctor looked around the Blitzer at Danny, who had marched angrily into the hall.

"Get back." Aderyn shouted as the Blitzer swung round to face Danny. Danny ducked and threw himself away from the Blitzer as it opened fire on him.

The Doctor and Aderyn both took out their sonic screwdrivers and aimed them at the Blitzer. There was enough of the generators in one place to have some kind of effect.

A swirling vortex opened in, what was left of, the circle of chairs.

Clara heard the commotion and headed straight for the hall. She saw the Doctor and Aderyn, stood with screwdrivers in hand pointing at the vortex, she saw the Skovox Blitzer trying to back away from the vortex, she saw Danny, sprawled on the floor, trying to back away from everything. She ran over to Danny, grabbing hold of him.

"Doctor! Aderyn! Stop!" She shouted.

The Blitzer soon lost it's ability to stay away from the vortex and it was dragged through it. As soon as the Blitzer disappeared into the swirling vortex, the Doctor and Aderyn lowered their screwdrivers. Aderyn glared at Danny and Clara knew she would easily punch Danny if the chance presented itself. The Doctor wasn't looking at Danny. He was looking at something that was on the floor next to Danny, something that had clearly fallen out of his pocket. The Doctor slowly walked over and picked up what had held his attention so completely.

"Oh, oh, well done, PE, brilliant work. What's this? A chronodyne generator? I'll just deactivate that, shall I? I've got a swimming certificate so that qualifies me to meddle with higher technology. Never mind that some people are actually trying to save the planet. Oh, no. There's only room in my head for cross-country and the offside rule." The Doctor snapped.

"Hey!" Aderyn yelled at him.

"What?" The Doctor huffed.

"Sarcasm is my thing. Don't take my thing. I'm the sarcastic one and you're the shouty, grumpy one."

As though being under cover as a caretaker had started to have an effect on the Doctor, he turned his back on them and began to pick up the chairs.

"Danny, what are you doing here?" Clara asked, helping Danny up.

"I was checking up on him. He's been up to something, fiddling with the electric." He waved his hand at the Doctor. "Did you see that thing? Tell me you saw that thing." He stuttered.

"Yes I saw the thing." Clara said. She looked over at the Doctor, who was stacking the chairs before turning a pleading expression on Aderyn "Are we safe? Is the planet safe? It's gone?"

Aderyn sighed "Yes, for the moment. But the thing is, you see, the chronodyne generators have to be precisely aligned to generate the vortex."

"But the sergeant here, he went and moved one." The Doctor shouted.

"More than one." Aderyn said. She held out her hand and Danny silently took the other one from his pocket and handed it to her. Without looking at it, she put it in her pocket.

"But the chronodyne worked. It's gone." Clara said.

"But not far enough. The vortex will open here again, but not in a billion years." The Doctor said.

"How long have we got?" Aderyn asked.

The Doctor looked down at his sonic screwdriver, which was giving some alarming readings "Seventy four hours."

"Three days?" Aderyn groaned.

"Three days to think of something new because now it knows what to expect. Now it has scanned me and it will kill me on sight, thanks to PE here."

Aderyn sighed again, far too aware that was something she was doing far too often these days. She had to calm the Doctor down. They had work to do. Three days was not long to figure out a new way to defeat the Blitzer. And the Doctor could throw a strop. He had spent a couple of weeks living with otters when he had once had a disagreement with River. He had threatened to ban River from the TARDIS but he knew that both Aderyn and the TARDIS would have let her back in. Somehow otters had been the better choice in his mind.

Danny was finally processing what was happening. He stood up and stared at Clara. "Clara, why are you talking to him like that? Why are you using words like chronodyne? Was that thing a space thing? Oh. Oh, my God, you're from space. You're a spacewoman. You said you were from Blackpool."

"Oh, don't be silly." Aderyn tutted.

Danny pointed a threatening finger at Aderyn "And who the hell are you then? Are you an alien as well?"

Aderyn shrugged "Not completely."

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Danny snapped.

"I'm willing to put a number on it." The Doctor said.

Danny glared at him over Aderyn's shoulder then turned fiercely to Clara "I'm not a moron, Clara. And he's not the caretaker. He's your dad. Your space dad."

The Doctor raised his sonic screwdriver "Right that's it, I'm going to wipe memory."

"Doctor, don't do that." Clara protested.

"Tiny little brain, only take a moment."

Clara stormed up to him and shoved his shoulder roughly "He's my boyfriend."

But the Doctor didn't listen "Well, I'll try not to erase the whole thing. I'll leave the bits that..." he started.

"He's my boyfriend." Clara repeated "I thought you'd figured this out."

The Doctor looked at Danny and grimaced "Him?"

"Yes, him." Clara said.

"No, he's not." The Doctor said.

"Yes he is." Aderyn said. Clara looked over her shoulder and frowned at Aderyn. Aderyn shrugged "Ozzie loves the Squaddie. Kids pay attention to these things."

"He is not." The Doctor demanded.

"Yes he is." Clara said.

"Yes I am." Danny said.

The Doctor looked at them both. "But he's a PE teacher. You wouldn't go out with a PE teacher. It's a mistake. You've made a boyfriend error."

"I'm a maths teacher." Danny shouted.

"You're a soldier." The Doctor shouted back. "Clara, why would you go out with a soldier? Why not get a dog or a big plant?"

"Because I love him." Clara said slowly.

"Oh it's a roller coaster with you tonight. What about the handsome one, the one with the bow tie?"

Clara almost laughed "Who? Adrian? No, no, no. He's just a friend and not my type."

Aderyn rubbed her eyes "Doctor, not everyone loves a bow tie."

"Do I need to mention Osgood?" The Doctor said to her with a raised eyebrow.

"Shut up. She's just a friend. And, anyway, the bow ties are your fault." Aderyn said quickly.

"Clara," Danny said loudly, drawing their attention back to him "Are you going to explain any of this? Who are these two?"

Clara looked from Danny to Aderyn and the Doctor then back to Danny. "The Doctor is..."

The Doctor crossed his arms "Go on."

"Aderyn is..."

Aderyn crossed her arms "Choose your description carefully."

"Yes, explain. Who are they? Why have you never mentioned them?" Danny demanded.

Clara opened and closed her mouth several times, not certain where to begin with everything that the Doctor and Aderyn were and everything they had gone through.

Aderyn put a gentle hand on Danny's shoulder "Look, I shouldn't be explaining this but I will give you the rough outline and Clara can fill in the details later. He's not the caretaker, he's the Doctor. A Time Lord from Gallifrey. And yes that does mean he's an alien."

"And you're alien as well?"

"I was telling the truth when I said not completely. He's my dad but my mum was human, from Earth. Your lovely girlfriend has been joining the Doctor and myself travelling throughout time and space. Now I get this is a lot to take in. I mean, she did drop the L word for the first time. And that can be a little overwhelming."

Not sure what to do with all the information he had just received, Danny swallowed "Time and space?"

The Doctor climbed onto the stage and pulled back the curtain "Exhibit A." The TARDIS, on the stage, looked like nothing more than a stage prop.

Clara jogged quickly up the stairs to the stage and stood next to the TARDIS "It's called a TARDIS, but it's disguised as an old police phone box. And it's bigger on the inside." She pushed open the door and Aderyn steered Danny gently towards the stage. He looked into the TARDIS, the lights from the console room reflected in his eyes.

"And what about that thing? Did you bring that here?" He said, turning to the Doctor.

"No. I'm going to protect you from that thing." The Doctor said.

"You said it was coming back." Danny said, suddenly severe.

"Yes, it is. Thanks to you." The Doctor snapped.

"This is a school. We have to evacuate, call the Army." Danny panicked.

The Doctor snapped his fingers and the TARDIS doors closed. When he jumped from the stage, landing close to Danny, Clara was soon behind him and Aderyn moved towards the Doctor, ready to step in if he tried to do anything stupid. But it wasn't Danny that the Doctor spoke to. It was Clara.

"And that is the most dangerous thing right there. Are you sure hypnotising's not on the menu?"

"Yes." Clara said.

The Doctor spared Danny the most hateful glance he could and then turned away from them to collect the generators.

"Calm down a bit Doctor. I don't need you being all grumpy face when we've got work to do." Aderyn said sternly. "Get the squaddie out of here." She whispered to Clara.

Clara nodded and tried to pull Danny to the door "But we need to get help. This is an emergency." Danny said.

"Look, take him away. Shut him up, shut him down. Up or down, it doesn't matter to me. I've got a lot of work to do. Again." The Doctor said.

"Will you be ok?" Clara asked kindly.

"Why wouldn't I be okay? I was fine till you two blundered in. And when this is all over, you can finish the job."

"What do you mean?" Clara asked. Despite the distance between them, Clara flinched away from the Doctor's harsh gaze.

"Well, I've been explained to him, but he hasn't been explained to me."

"Just go." Aderyn said quickly, and with surprising strength, pushed them both across the hall and out of the doors, which were slammed behind them. In the moment of silence that passed between them, they heard Aderyn shouting at the Doctor to calm down and be nice.

The silence between Danny and Clara continued as they walked down the corridor. Clara spun around quickly when she heard running footsteps behind them.

"Clara, wait up a second." Aderyn called as she dashed towards them. They stopped walking.

"What's wrong?" Clara asked quickly when Aderyn caught up with them.

"I'm sorry about the Doctor. He's a bit too set in his ways. Just do us all a favour and keep Danny out of his way until this is over." She then smiled apologetically at Danny "No offence."

"Why are you even trying?" Clara asked. She was annoyed and tired. She didn't trust Aderyn enough to think that her intentions weren't selfish.

"Because the Doctor doesn't function properly when he's annoyed by something as trivial as his friend's choice of partner. He doesn't like soldiers, Clara, you should know that by now." Aderyn said. "And the survival of everyone depends on the Doctor being able to come up with something in the next three days. There's only so much I can do by myself. I need the Doctor for this."

"But I shouldn't have to seek the Doctor's approval for..." Clara started.

"Trust me, I know. But I know what he's like better than you. I'm not trying to start an argument, I'm trying to do you a favour." Aderyn said. She patted Danny gently on the shoulder and walked back to the Doctor.


	20. I Just Want to Know Who You Are

Clara had been almost reluctant to go back to Danny's flat from the school. She knew the ensuing conversation would be awkward and she feared that it would lead to the end of them as a couple. She prepared herself for that, for the worst.

But Danny had tried to understand.

"So, there's an alien, that used to look like Adrian. Then he turned into a Scottish caretaker and he has a daughter who is half human, very intelligent and a best selling author. Yet she is teaching physics and for some reason, that you don't know, she really doesn't like you. But every now and then, when I'm not looking, you elope with him. And sometimes her as well."

"I don't elope." Clara said.

"Do you love him?" Danny asked quietly.

"No." Clara said

"Do you love her?"

"No. Not even a little."

Danny looked at her sadly "Really had enough of the lies. Do you love him?"

"Not in that way." Clara admitted.

"What other way is there?"

"You know what I mean." Clara said, hoping he really did. Yes, she did love the Doctor. But not in the way that Aderyn or Danny seemed to think. She loved him the way someone loves a friend they've known for years, the way someone loves a relative.

"I don't know what you mean. I know what you tell me, which isn't always the truth. Why do you do it? Why do you fly off in the box with him? The truth. Please, just this once."

"Because I've seen the world out there. A world beyond this planet. There's so many wonders out there."

"Okay." Danny said. He then fell silent.

Clara couldn't bear his silence. He looked so sad, so helpless. "What are you thinking?"

Danny smiled, but it wasn't a happy smile "That's a good question. It's funny, you only really know what someone thinks of you when you know what lies they've told you. I mean, you say you've seen wonders, you've seen amazing things, and you kept them secret from me. So what do you think of me, Clara?"

"Please tell me how to fix this." Clara pleaded.

"I just want to know who you are."

"You know who I am."

Danny shook his head "When you're with him. When you're with the Doctor."

Clara thought for a second. There was no real way he could see what she was like when she was with the Doctor. The Doctor wouldn't allow it. But there was one way.  
_

Neither Aderyn nor the Doctor had been in the TARDIS or storeroom when Clara and Danny got there. Aderyn was in a lesson, and the Doctor was nowhere to be seen. She snuck into the TARDIS, leaving Danny outside the storeroom. When she emerged again, she handed Danny a watch.

"Put that on." She told him.

"It's a watch." He said.

"It's an invisibility watch. I think we've just got time before parents' evening. Press the button on the side, you're invisible. You'll see me with the Doctor, the other me. The exactly the same other me. Okay?"

Danny pressed the button and she could no longer see him. They didn't have long to wait before the bell for the end of lessons and end of the school day rang. A few minutes later, Aderyn and the Doctor came round the corner. Their heads were bent and they were clearly having a very serious discussion. Between them, they carried a myriad of computer parts.

The Doctor smiled when he saw Clara. Aderyn glared.

"We have a lot to do, is there a problem?" Aderyn asked icily. She knew she had no real reason to be annoyed with Clara. But she was far more displeased than normal to see her. Aderyn and the Doctor had, between Aderyn's lessons, been able to form the perfect plan to deal with the Blitzer. Clara could just be a distraction. They really did have a lot of work to do if this was going to be successful.

"Thought I'd see if you needed any help." Clara said cheerfully, ignoring Aderyn's tone.

"We don't." Aderyn said, but she held the door open for Clara as they went into the storeroom.

When they reached the safety of the TARDIS, the Doctor and Aderyn started to unpack some boxes that had been left in the TARDIS and began to work on the computer parts.

"So what are you doing?" Clara asked.

"Well, if we can get this finished in time, then this is what is going to stop the Blitzer." The Doctor said. Although Clara didn't spot what the Doctor was doing, Aderyn didn't miss him looking passed Clara several times.

Clara looked at the odd contraption they were building "So when the Blitzer comes back, you're going to catch it with that?"

"That's what he said." Aderyn muttered.

"It'll be a long, fiddly job. It's going to take me at least twenty four hours. Even longer if people keep talking to me, so do keep going. It'll be a long, fiddly job. It's going to take me at least twenty four hours. Even longer if people keep talking to me, so do keep going." The Doctor said.

"If it comes back Thursday night, are you sure about that? Cos you said the chronodyne is unstable." Clara said.

Aderyn looked up from what she was doing and grimaced at Clara "You don't get sarcasm do you?"

The Doctor tutted "If you want bother someone, go and bother PE."

"He's a maths teacher." Clara corrected.

The Doctor sighed "That's a shame. I like maths."

"Not a soldier." Clara persisted.

The Doctor smiled "Interesting." He put aside the parts he'd been working on and nodded at Aderyn. She clicked her fingers and the TARDIS doors closed.

"I'm bored." She said suddenly.

"Let's go somewhere." The Doctor agreed.

They both stood up and walked over to the console. The Doctor began to set a course and the TARDIS engines began to rumble.

Clara followed close behind him, undoing everything he had just done.

"But you can't. The Skovox thing." Clara said desperately.

Aderyn grinned horribly at her "It's a time machine. We can get back straightaway, like we always do on your dates. Just make sure you don't get yourself a tan or anything, or lose a limb."

Clara stamped her foot and attempted to bring herself up to Aderyn's height. With almost a foot height difference between the two, Clara was far less intimidating than she had aimed to be.

"I don't think we should, not this time."

"You've never said no before. Not even in the middle of dinner. Remember when you had to eat two meals in a row?" The Doctor said casually.

"I just think, that with the school in danger we shouldn't." Clara said.

Aderyn leant against the console, still grinning "How long did you think that was going to work?"

"I don't know what you mean." Clara lied.

Aderyn and the Doctor were both looking at a point by the TARDIS door. Danny appeared in front of them, removing the watch.

"You knew I was here all along." He muttered.

"I had an idea." Aderyn said.

"Of course I did, being a Time Lord, I can feel a light shield aura when it's right next to me." The Doctor snapped.

Danny laughed "Time Lord? Might have known."

"Might have known what?" The Doctor asked.

"Well, the accent's good, but you can always spot the aristocracy. It's in the attitude." Danny laughed again.

"Stop talking." Aderyn warned.

But Danny ignored her completely "Now, Time Lords, do you salute those?"

"Absolutely not." Aderyn said quickly.

"Get out." The Doctor said quietly.

Danny saluted "Yes, sir."

Aderyn put her head in her hands "Clara, get him out of here."

"Do not call me sir." The Doctor said.

Danny stood to attention "As you wish, sir. Absolutely, sir."

"And get out of my TARDIS."

"Immediately sir." Danny said, but he didn't move.

"Doctor, this is stupid. This is unfair." Clara pleaded.

"One thing, Clara. I'm a soldier, guilty as charged. You see him? He's an officer." Danny smiled.

"I'm not an officer." The Doctor shouted.

"I'm the one who carries you out of the fire. He's the one who lights it." Danny said.

"Out! Now!" The Doctor roared.

"Am I dismissed?"

"Yes, you are."

Danny saluted at the Doctor again "That's him. Look at him, right now. That's who he is." He said to Clara.

When Aderyn stepped away from the console, Clara realised then how little the Doctor liked Danny. Rather than moving with Aderyn to stop her doing anything stupid, like punching Danny, the Doctor didn't move. Aderyn walked slowly to Danny and stopped in front of him.

"I can not emphasis enough the danger that everyone is in if we do not get everything we need to do finished. Now, I don't care what you think about me or the Doctor. But what I do care about is how much of a bad mood you have put the Doctor in. The Doctor in a bad mood is not productive. So if you do not leave, right now, I will forcibly remove you." Aderyn said calmly.

Danny let out a breath of laughter.

"Oh she will." Clara said quickly.

When Danny regarded Aderyn with a raised eyebrow, she spun him round and pushed him towards the door. Danny was able to shrug Aderyn off just before she pushed him into the doors and left, slamming the door behind him.

"On reflection, I think that went well." The Doctor said, picking up the bits of the contraption he had abandoned on the TARDIS floor.

Clara glared at Aderyn and the Doctor. She opened her mouth, but unable to find the right words to describe her current anger, she closed her mouth again and followed Danny from the TARDIS, shouting after him to remember it was parents' evening.

"Humans," The Doctor muttered darkly "I never learn."

Not long after Clara and Danny left, they heard someone else enter the storeroom. "If that is Clara, I'm actually going to hit." Aderyn said.

Despite his anger, the Doctor got up and walked out of the TARDIS to see who had come calling.

He was met at the TARDIS door by Courtney " What's in the box? It's not really a policeman, is it?"

The Doctor sighed "You want to know what's in that box? I'll tell you what's in that box. It's a time machine. It also travels in space. And it usually contains a man who just wants to get on with his work of preventing the end of the world, but keeps being interrupted by boring little humans."

"Is it really a spaceshiop?" Courtney asked, crouching so she could see under the Doctor's arm and into the TARDIS. She saw Aderyn sat on the floor of the console room, angrily flicking useless computer components across the room.

The Doctor stepped around her, and pulled Courtney away from the TARDIS buy her shirt collar.

"I'm serious. I'm trying to save the world." The Doctor said.

Courtney sighed sadly "End of the world for me tonight, whatever you do. Parents' evening."

The Doctor leant against the TARDIS and crossed his arms "What's your name?"

"Courtney Woods. Can I go in space?"

The Doctor smiled "I'll let you know. I may have a vacancy. But not right now." He pointed at the door. With one last look at the TARDIS, Courtney reluctantly left.

"I can't help but think you're starting to like her." Aderyn said, appearing at the TARDIS door. The Doctor shrugged. "Right, don't get two grumpy. I've got to go."

She pulled a blazer on over her shirt and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" The Doctor demanded.

"Parents' evening. I'm a teacher, remember?"

"Two days." The Doctor muttered as he watched Aderyn walk away "I can do this."


	21. There isn't Exactly a Manual for This

The Doctor stayed in the TARDIS, aiming to avoid parents' evening. Aderyn had tried to explain the concept to him, but he just hadn't understood. They never had anything like parents' evening on Gallifrey and the whole idea was completely alien to him. When he had asked Aderyn whether her adopted parents had attended her parents' evening, he felt a pang of guilt as she had looked away from him and mutter something about how they had always been too busy to attend. He mentally kicked himself and remembered that they hadn't cared. So it was likely that they hadn't been busy, they just couldn't be bothered to go.

So he stayed in the TARDIS, avoiding people and constantly tinkering with the contraption that he and Aderyn had been building. There was still much to do.

He hadn't really been paying attention to anything in particular when the scanner started to beep. He launched himself at the TARDIS console and stared at the screen.

"No, no, no." He breathed. He grabbed the contraption and headed for the TARDIS door.  
_

Aderyn had no experience of parents' evening. But she got into the swing of it fairly quickly. As the parents sat down they immediately attacked her with questions in regards to their child's progress. Most of the children she taught were pleasant and fairly competent. It wasn't until she came across Courtney Wood's parents that she felt a small glimmer of sympathy for Clara. She didn't know how Clara could put up with them every year.

Aderyn looked at Courtney's parents and sighed. She crossed her hands neatly on the table in front of her and met their gaze. "Unfortunately, Courtney is rather a disruptive influence. I have had to remind her several times that manners exist and she does keep coming up with the most ridiculous excuses to try and get out of class. She needs to pay more attention. A lot more attention."

Courtney's mum nodded along as Aderyn spoke. When Aderyn finished she looked at her hopefully "But has there been any improvement in her behaviour or work?"

Aderyn looked through the stack of class work in front of her. She had been provided with Courtney's class work for the entire year, including the bits she missed at the beginning, and her behaviour reports. She looked up at the Woods when something at the door caught her attention. It was the Doctor. He was waving his hand at her, wanting her to follow. She looked around he hall at the other teachers, each with parents sat in front of them. The only other ones who had noticed the frantic Doctor was Clara and Danny. Clara looked over and her. Aderyn jerked her head towards the door. Aderyn stood up. "Mr and Mrs Woods, I'm afraid something has come up and I must depart. Judging by the information giver, Courtney has improved very slightly. But she still has a long way to go." She darted round the tab;e and reached the door the same time as Clara.

"There was no chance tonight was going to go smoothly, was there?." Clara muttered.

"None whatsoever." Aderyn said.

"Already?" Aderyn groaned, seeing the Doctor fully prepared for Blitzer combat.

"Yes," The Doctor said quickly. "We need to move now." They all started down the corridor when Danny ran up behind them.

"Is it back already? What are we going to do?"

Aderyn looked from the Doctor, who seemed to have chosen to ignore Danny completely, to Danny. "We're going to stop it." she said quickly "You're going to go back to parents' evening."

But Danny still followed. They ran out of the building and stopped in the small courtyard.

"It'll scan the area. If it gets to parents' evening, it'll kill them all." The Doctor said.

"We've got to evacuate." Danny said quickly.

"PE, shut up." The Doctor snapped. He took his sonic screwdriver from his pocket and handed it to Clara "Get back to the hall. Give it some squirts of helicon energy, setting number forty one. No more than three seconds each, random pulses. Distract it, then you lead it away from the hall, give me two minutes."

"Then what?" Clara took the sonic screwdriver with trembling hand.

"Then go straight to the TARDIS. Aderyn, you're with me. There's a few minor things on this machine that need sorting quickly." The Doctor said. Aderyn nodded. Clara nodded at them both then ran back into the school.

"You're using Clara like a decoy?" Danny snapped.

"Not like a decoy, as a decoy." Aderyn said.

"Is there anything I can do?" Danny called after Aderyn ad the Doctor as they began to jog away from him.

The Doctor turned and walked back to Danny. "Yes. And this is very, very important." The Doctor said "Leave us alone!"  
_

Clara found the Blitzer in one of the school halls. She let it know she was there. When it turned and began to charge towards her, she fled. It followed her down a corridor, across the playground and didn't even stop as Clara slammed the storeroom door behind her. It destroyed the door completely.

The Doctor and Aderyn were already into the storeroom. Aderyn was frantically pressing buttons on the backpack mounted device the Doctor was wearing. He held an old fashioned microphone in his hand.

"Hurry up." Clara hissed as the Blitzer entered the room.

"Yes, I know." Aderyn muttered. her button pressing became faster and her eyes more focused.

"Any time now." The Doctor said.

"I'm trying to condense twenty four hours work into seconds, there isn't exactly a manual for this." Aderyn snapped. She then stepped back suddenly "You're green."

As soon as those two words had left Aderyn's mouth, the Doctor raised the microphone.

"Stop! Skovox Blitzer!" The Doctor said. The Skovox Blitzer stopped in it's tracks.

"Awaiting orders." The Blitzer said.

"Superior Skovox Artificer. Analyse stop analyse stop." The Doctor continued.

"Superior recognised. Pattern one one oh, Orders orders." The Blitzer replied.

"Why's it listening to him?" Clara whispered.

"It listening to it's superior." Aderyn said "It thinks the Doctor is it's general."

"Initiate input. Commence shutdown protocol. No conflict. Conclusion?"

The Blitzer waited for a few seconds before responding "Problem solution."

"Conclusion." The Doctor repeated.

"Final input code missing. Emergency terminate. Initiate self-destruct in nine eight..."

Aderyn slapped her forehead and rushed forward to the backpack "We forgot the final input code." she began frantically typing at a keyboard attached to the device.

"Quickly." The Doctor said as the Blitzer's eyes turned from a pale blue glow to a burning red.

"Seven six five..."

"I need time." Aderyn shouted "Distract it Clara."

"Me? What can I do?" Clara asked.

"Anything." The Doctor said.

"Three two one."

"OI! Skovox, over here." The Doctor and Clara looked up at the door to see Danny stood in the doorway. He ran forwards and leapt over the Blitzer. It turned to face him.

"Under attack." The Blitzer said, pointing it's weapons at Danny.

"Go." Aderyn said quickly, stepping back form the Doctor and pulling Clara behind a shelving unit, out of direct sight of the Blitzer.

"Artificer Artificer. Stop. Confirm stop override final input code." The Doctor shouted into the microphone.

"Code accepted. Abort self-destruct. Orders accepted Stop stop stop." The Blitzer shut itself down. Aderyn breathed a sigh of relief and walked back over to the Doctor. Clara ran from behind the shelves and hugged Danny. Aderyn and the Doctor looked at each other and smiled.

Danny prized Clara's arms from around his neck and looked over at the Doctor "You okay?"

The Doctor put a hand on Aderyn's shoulder and nodded "Okay.

"Just okay?" Clara asked.

Danny smiled " It's all right, it doesn't matter. I don't need him to like me. It doesn't matter if he likes me or hates me, I just need to do exactly one thing for you. Doctor, am I right?"

The Doctor nodded.

Clara frowned, looking from the Doctor to Danny "What? What thing?"

"I need to be good enough for you. That's why he's angry. Just in case I'm not. " Danny explained.

Clara put her hands in her pockets and smiled broadly at the Doctor "He did just save the world."

The Doctor shrugged off the heavy backpack "It's a good start." He muttered.

Danny looked over at Aderyn. Aderyn appeared to be paying very little attention to the conversation. She was busy typing on her phone.

"What about you?" Danny asked.

Aderyn looked up "Sorry, I wasn't listening."

"I said, how about you? Are you okay?"

Aderyn looked back down at her phone as it beeped pleasantly "Never better." She muttered with a smile. She then took a pen from her pocket and seized the Doctor's hand. "These two days that I'm writing down," she said as she scribbled on the Doctor's hand "Don't bother me on these two days. Even if it's an emergency."

As she released his hand he looked down at the two dates she had neatly written "Why?"

"I had plans, Doctor, that I had to rearrange. Now I have and I don't intend to rearrange them again."

The Doctor shrugged "Fine." He picked up the back pack and walked into the TARDIS.

"Clara said you were married," Danny said lightly "If he's this bad with the boyfriend of his friend I dread to think what he was like with your husband."

"Wife, actually. And the day we both me her, she died." Aderyn said sadly.

"What?"

"I had a wife. Not a husband." Aderyn said.

"No. I meant the part about her dying the day you met her." Danny frowned.

Aderyn crossed her arms and grinned "That part is extremely complicated and it takes a lot of time and several flow charts to explain."

By the time Danny and Clara saw fit to drag themselves out of the storeroom, parent's evening was long over. Aderyn leant against the TARDIS as she watched the door close behind them.

"He did just save her life. You could at least appreciate that." She called into the console room.

"It doesn't mean I have to like him." The Doctor called.

Aderyn smiled and walked into the TARDIS "Not at all. I mean, Clara is a good travelling companion for you but I still don't like her."

The Doctor walked around the console to where Aderyn was stood. He looked seriously at her "You could try."

Aderyn's smile vanished "No, I really couldn't." she said and pulled a lever. The TARDIS engine whirred and the time rotor began it's steady rise and fall.


End file.
